On Saturday 16 April 2016, His Holiness Pope Francis visited Lesbos to see for himself the conditions that refugees were living in. He was accompanied by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymus II
The Holy Father said
‘We have come to call the attention of the world to this grave humanitarian crisis and to plead for its resolution. As people of faith, we wish to join our voices to speak out on your behalf. We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity’
To read the full statement made by the Holy Father and by the Patriarch and the Archbishop please click here