Pope prays for dead migrants in Lampedusa's cemetery

At a cemetery in Italy's Lampedusa island, Pope Leo XIV prayed for migrants who died at sea trying to cross the Mediterranean, in front of graves with wooden crosses made from sunken boats.

Lampedusa sits 90 miles, off the coast of Tunisia and has cared for thousands of migrants and taken in their dead. He also paid homage to those who have died during the crossing, saying "they feel their presence, which challenges them no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid".

In 2013, more than 360 people died in the island's worst shipwreck, and dozens more have drowned in the years since. The pope also visited the pier where people rescued at sea are brought to safety, and blessed a plaque dedicated to Pope Francis who chose Lampedusa for his very first trip following his election in 2013.