Spanish bishops thank Pope Francis for his interest in traveling to the Canary Islands

The spokesperson for the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) has indicated that the bishops of the Canary Islands dioceses have written to Pope Francis thanking him for his interest in visiting the islands, although there is no specific communication from the Vatican about this possibility.

Mons. Francisco César García Magán, secretary general of the EEC, appeared this Tuesday after last week’s meeting of the Permanent Commission, in which he was repeatedly asked about the possibility of the Pontiff traveling soon to the Canary Islands.

Bishop García has stated that he is not aware “that the bishops of the Canary Islands would have had more details on the subject”, but that the EEC “is very interested” in the Pontiff being able to visit the archipelago. In this sense, he highlighted that “there has not been” a meeting between a bishop and Pope Francis in which “this request has not been reiterated.”

In the meeting they held in Rome with Pope Francis last May, after the election of Mons. Luis Argüello as president and that of Cardinal José Cobo as vice president of the EEC, the issue was discussed and “the Pope left it to us open”, explained Mons. García Magán.

Pope Francis’ possible trip to the Canary Islands would be similar to those made to Lesbos in Greece or Marseille in France, where he denounced the drama of the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pope Francis, aware of the migratory drama in the Canary Islands

In recent months, Pope Francis has publicly shown his concern about the migratory drama occurring on the coasts of the Canary Islands, where some 38,000 illegal migrants have arrived so far this year in 400 boats, or which represents an increase of 85% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.

In November 2023, He wrote a letter to the Canarian bishops in which he thanked “the great efforts being made to try to respond to this emergency situation.”

On January 15, during a private audience with the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Clavijo, and the Bishop of the Canary Islands, Bishop José Mazuelos, he reiterated his interest in the issue. The president highlighted “the level of knowledge, of detail, that His Holiness had of what was happening in the Canary Islands.”

The Canarian prelates also delivered to Pope Francis an extensive report that elaborated on the challenges of the migration issue on the islands located on the eastern coast of Africa.

Upon returning from his trip to Asia and Oceania, the Pontiff stated that he had in mind traveling to the Fortunate Islands “because there is the situation with migrants arriving from the sea and he would like to be close to the rulers and people of the Canary Islands.” He could do it, according to the conversation with the journalist who asked him the question, as a stopover on the way to his native country, Argentina.