Pope León XIV visited the port of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria on Thursday, where he heard accounts of rescues and trafficking victims during his apostolic trip to Spain.
León XIV arrived at the Gando air base before eleven in the morning local time. Accompanied by President Pedro Sánchez and other ministers, he went to the port known as the 'dock of shame'. There he laid a floral offering to the sea and observed a minute of silence for the deceased.
The pontiff heard the testimony of Tito Villarmea of Maritime Rescue, who said he had rescued more than 20,000 people in 18 years. He also heard the story of Blessing, a Senegalese trafficking victim, read by Ayou, about her 25,000-euro debt and separation from her son.
In his speech, León XIV said: "Migrants, you are not numbers, you are people with dreams". He urged Europe not to get used to the Atlantic being a cemetery and appealed to countries of origin and transit to create conditions of peace and protect the vulnerable.
He blessed two young survivors and responded to the accounts with messages about human dignity. The pope ended his visit with a call not to ignore these docks.
