Excerpt from Pope Leo XIV’s message for the Sept. 27 2026 World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Each year the World Day of Migrants and Refugees invites us to turn our attention to different aspects of the complex phenomenon of migration. For this 112th World Day, the theme, “Even just one of these children,” draws our attention to the minors directly involved in the experience of migration and flight, to the care owed to them, and to the Lord’s promise that “whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Mk 9:37).

Minors are the most vulnerable group within the global movements of migration. They are concrete faces, who have unique stories, and call on our conscience. Every year, millions of children and adolescents are forced to leave their homeland because of war, poverty, violence, environmental disasters and other tragedies. Sadly, their number continues to grow. The economic, political and military consequences of this disaster are immense. The suffering of migrant children does not end with their relocation. Very young children have lost parents, brothers, sisters and friends, and witnessed unspeakable acts of violence. Others, separated from their families for long periods endure the anguish of separation. There are also minors who make the journey with their parents yet are exposed to extreme and traumatic conditions. Finally, we cannot forget the tragic situation of those separated from their parents because of repatriation.

To this already appalling situation are added further tragedies: deaths along migration routes, trafficking and exploitation, recruitment of minors armed conflicts, sexual violence, forced marriages, and the atrocities they have suffered or witnessed during their travels. Their dignity is trampled in countless ways.

Yet, amid so much darkness, the light of solidarity is not lacking. Individuals, families, civil institutions and ecclesial communities choose not to pass by on the other side (cf. Lk 10:29-37). We think of the families who open the doors of their homes in order to restore to these children the warmth of a family hearth; the educators who serve in reception centers; the volunteers and aid workers who each day devote themselves to healing the invisible wounds of these little ones along migration routes and in our cities. They bear witness through their commitment that love can overcome indifference.

Before this tragic reality, my thoughts turn to the words of Jesus that profoundly challenge our consciences: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Mt 18:5). It is not a question of numbers or statistics. The Gospel invites us not to calculate: even one. Every child, every human being, possesses an infinite dignity. Each is created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26); each is a presence of the Lord. Before every migrant child, we are called to make an act of humanity and faith, for we are able to welcome and encounter the Lord. This call becomes even more pressing in the light of another of the Lord’s affirmations in the Gospel of Matthew: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).

Sadly, migrant children are more easily ignored because they lack adults capable of supporting them. It is necessary, then, to intervene in their countries of origin in order to remove the causes that compel them to flee, while at the same time offering protection and welcome in the countries of transit and destination. The cry of displaced children rises to God today just as did the cry heard in the Book of Exodus. God hears their cry and, in order to bring about liberation, he forcefully appeals to the conscience and action of each one of us, just as he did with Moses. We cannot remain indifferent nor can we become accustomed to such suffering.

Even just one of these children calls each one of us, in our personal lives, to open our eyes and heart to a profound listening to his or her story, fears and dreams, overcoming that detachment which reduces the human person to a statistic that does not directly concern us. It is an invitation to recognize the dignity of each child… and safeguard his or her fundamental rights: the right to life, education and a standard of living that enables full physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

Even just one of these children calls us, in the life of the Church, to transform welcoming from an abstract concept into a stable pastoral practice.