There can be no doubt that Pope Francis’s legacy will be one of advocacy and compassion for migrants, refugees, and others displaced by violence, famine, and hardship in their country of origin. Pope Francis’s dedication to this vulnerable population began when he was a young boy growing up in Argentina, the descendant of Italian immigrants who themselves made a new life in the country. Growing up, he saw migrant families stricken with hunger and cholera following the grueling journey to find safety in Argentina. Witnessing such profound suffering within his community at such an early age imbued Pope Francis with profound empathy for migrants of all times and places that was reflected throughout his papacy.

From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis demonstrated empathy and compassion for migrants through his works. Pope Francis’s first trip away from the Vatican after becoming Pope was to visit Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean that migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East desperately try to reach at great risk to their lives. There, he met with migrants seeking safety and denounced the “globalization of indifference” towards the plight of migrants. He later said of those who actively refuse to let migrants seek safety, “there are those who systematically work by all means to drive away migrants, and this, when done knowingly and deliberately, is a grave sin.”

Pope Francis continued to visit other areas impacted by migration, such as the U.S.-Mexico border and the island of Lesbos in Greece. From Lesbos and, later, Cyprus, he used the papal plane to help resettle refugee families in Italy. A Syrian family whose resettlement Pope Francis facilitated said of him, “He’s a gift from paradise … a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us.”

Pope Francis also confronted the increasing hostility towards migrants in the United States. Addressing a Joint Session of Congress in 2015, he acknowledged that there was a global “refugee crisis” but urged empathy:

We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12). This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated.

Celebrating Mass at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016, Pope Francis urged listeners to open their hearts to migrants and recognize the desperation to find a safe haven:

We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant the migration of thousands of people, whether by train or highway or on foot, crossing hundreds of kilometers through mountains, deserts and inhospitable zones …. They are our brothers and sisters, who are being expelled by poverty and violence, drug trafficking and organized crime.

Upon his return to the Vatican, Pope Francis said pointedly that “a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel.”

Even in Pope Francis’s final months, he never stopped his advocacy for migrants. In February 2025, he denounced plans for mass deportations from the United States as “a disgrace” and urged American Catholics to protect migrants, defend them, and resist “narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

Pope Francis was a constant role model and inspiration for our work at CLINIC. In the words of our Executive Director, Anna Gallagher, Pope Francis exemplified “living out our calling to serve ‘the least of these’ with compassion and unwavering dedication.” Within RIS, our dedication to assisting religious workers also aligns with the mission of Pope Francis. He proposed that when U.S. Americans reject hostility towards migrants, they “build bridges that bring us ever closer together.” Bridges are built as religious institutions seek religious workers from outside the United States and those workers agree to share their lives and experiences with their communities. RIS attorneys and paralegals are proud to assist with that process.

Life-size cut-out of Pope Francis guiding our work at CLINIC’s Maryland office (pictured in newsletter). 

Read more about Pope Francis’s life and works referenced in these articles here:

1. Defending migrants was a priority for Pope Francis from the earliest days of his papacy:
   https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-migrant-advocate-82193bcef21f096ce5f9754bba8f0cbb
2. Syrian refugee family that Pope Francis brought to Rome prays for him as they build new life:
   https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-health-migration-policy-syria-refugees-greece-mediterranean-b5825af6cc50b67d95a86990967b1eb5
3. Pope : Driving away migrants is a ‘grave sin’:
   https://www.usccb.org/news/2024/pope-driving-away-migrants-grave-sin
4. Visit to the Joint Session of The United States Congress: Address of the Holy Father:
   https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/september/documents/papa-francesco_20150924_usa-us-congress.html
5. Pope Francis urges governments to ‘open hearts’ to migrants:
   https://apnews.com/general-news-8c2e6b420c76487e85c9a71429319aee
6. Pope to U.S.: Build bridges, not walls:
   https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2016/02/20/1555275/pope-us-build-bridges-not-walls
7. Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America:
   https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html
8. CLINIC Mourns the Loss of Pope Francis and Honors His Legacy for Immigrants and Refugees:
   https://www.cliniclegal.org/press-releases/clinic-mourns-loss-pope-francis-and-honors-his-legacy-immigrants-and-refugees