The pope will visit Lampedusa on July 4, the Vatican announced on Thursday, as part of a series of visits he will make this summer to cities across Italy. AdvertisementLampedusa sits in the Mediterranean between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily. The Lampedusa visit will come on the day the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence. Pope Leo, the first U.S. leader of the global Catholic Church, will spend the Independence Day holiday this year visiting an Italian island known as the first port of call for migrants sailing from North Africa for Europe. The island was visited by the late Pope Francis in 2013 on his first visit as pope outside Rome.

Source: Huffington Post February 23, 2026 15:04 UTC