Pope Leo XIV Calls Ceuta Migrant Crossings a Humanitarian Crisis

Pope Leo XIV has described the mass migrant crossing into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta as a humanitarian crisis driven by multiple underlying causes, saying steps must be found to prevent such emergencies from recurring.

The pontiff made the remarks to reporters on Friday while travelling to France for a four-day visit. Asked about the situation in Ceuta, he said he had been following it from the outset and characterised it as a crisis with several root causes.

"We need to find ways to respond to prevent this kind of emergency," he said.

The comments came nearly two months after around 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said 141 people died during the mass crossing in late July.

While most of the migrants returned to Morocco, thousands remained in Ceuta, where Spanish authorities struggled to provide shelter, food and other basic services. The U.N. refugee agency has urged authorities to speed up the processing of asylum claims.

Pope Leo's remarks place the migration emergency in Ceuta among the concerns he has raised as he begins his visit to France.