By Leo visited a center offering support and integration to immigrants in the Archdiocese of Paris, on the second day of his Sept. 25-28 journey in France.
PARIS — Pope Leo XIV listened to the stories of faith and hope of two migrants to France at an integration center in the Paris archdiocese on Saturday.
France is one of the European countries with the highest influx of immigrants — a highly divisive political issue that is also tied to next year’s presidential election, with anti-immigration politician Marine Le Pen the current front-runner.
Roughly 8 million immigrants live in France, representing 11.6% of France’s total population in 2025, according to the French national statistics institute.
Leo visited the Bakhita House, a center offering support and integration to immigrants in the Archdiocese of Paris. The pope’s visit falls on the fifth anniversary of the center, which offers educational workshops in sewing, cooking, visual arts, and computer skills.
Named for St. Josephine Bakhita — a child victim of abduction and slavery from Sudan — the day home has welcomed 2,500 people of 84 different nationalities since opening its doors in late September 2021. It is run by five permanent staff members and 100 volunteers.
“The name of your center … which refers to St. Bakhita, inspires us to recognize the fundamental role of women in building a civilization of love, which is an alternative to a culture that tears communities apart and leaves cities sick with loneliness,” the pope said Sept. 26.
The pope heard from a 31-year-old Nigerian woman named Blessing, who described the way her life has changed since receiving the help and friendship of the association Aux Captifs, la Libération, a Catholic charitable organization that helps the homeless and people in situations of prostitution.
Blessing described a complicated life in which she “was forced to do things I did not want to do.” But through the assistance she received, she left that life behind and began to work in a restaurant.
“God has an important place in my life. Without God, nothing is possible,” she said. “Even through the difficulties I have experienced, I never doubted his presence, and I knew that one day he would open a new path for me. Sometimes I wish God could erase everything like a magician, but I know that he will do everything in his own time.”
The pope also heard from 35-year-old Meysam, a refugee from Afghanistan. Through Bakhita House, he was able to improve his French and his sewing skills. He is now a volunteer with the house: “I go on two street outreaches each week to meet undocumented exiles and refugees. It is a way of giving back what I myself received.”
Pope Leo thanked everyone who works at the center, “as well as all those throughout France who carry out this service in similar institutions.”
“Continue to bear witness to that care for one another which, through fraternal welcome, programs of formation, and dialogue with the city, elevates the spirit and makes the world more humane,” he said.
“May St. Bakhita, together with the great witnesses of charity who have shaped the presence of the Church in France, especially during periods of tumultuous change, intercede on your behalf.”
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Saint Josephine Bakhita – Pray for us.
The Bishop of Rome is very safe in his Vatican, which keeps its walls and its Swiss Guards armed with heavy automatic weapons, and which punishes severely any illegal crossing it borders:
Vatican Promises Stiff Penalties for Illegal Aliens Crossing its Border
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/01/16/vatican-promises-stiff-penalties-for-illegal-aliens-crossing-its-border/
Meanwhile, the less fortunate rest of the Europeans suffer the results of the illegal immigration promoted by the Bishop of Rome:
SEX CRIME RISES ACROSS EUROPE AS WESTERN NATIONS TOP THE LIST
FIGURES REVEAL A WIDENING DIVIDE BETWEEN HIGH-CRIME WESTERN STATES AND FAR LOWER RATES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE.
ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP
New figures from Eurostat show that sexual violence offences across Europe continued to rise in 2024, with sharp differences between Western and Eastern countries likely to intensify debate over the link between crime and migration.
Police recorded 256,302 SEXUAL VIOLENCE OFFENCES IN 2024, INCLUDING 98,190 CASES OF RAPE.
This represents a 5% increase in sexual violence overall and a 7% rise in rape compared with 2023.
OVER THE PAST DECADE, THE TREND HAS BEEN SHARPLY UPWARD: SEXUAL VIOLENCE OFFENCES HAVE NEARLY DOUBLED SINCE 2014, WHILE RAPE CASES HAVE SURGED BY 150%.
A breakdown by population highlights striking regional disparities.
Nordic and Western European countries dominate the top of the list, with Sweden reporting 200.98 cases of sexual violence per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Iceland, Finland, France, and Belgium.
By contrast, several Central and Eastern European countries, WHICH PROTECT THEMSELVES VS ILLAAL ALIENS AND SUFFER FAR LOWER RATES OF ILLEGAL ALIENS, report significantly lower rates, including Hungary (5.10), Lithuania (5.79), and North Macedonia (7.17).
Similar patterns appear in other categories of crime.
SPAIN, BELGIUM, PORTUGAL, FRANCE, AND GERMANY RANK AMONG THE HIGHEST FOR ROBBERY, BURGLARY, AND THEFT, WHILE MONTENEGRO, SLOVAKIA, AND HUNGARY SIT AT THE LOWER END.
Drug-related offences also show similar gaps, with Sweden, France, and Belgium reporting far higher rates than countries such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia.
Rising crime levels in Western Europe have been increasingly linked to increased migration. Reports from countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and Germany have indicated that foreign nationals are overrepresented among suspects in certain categories of violent crime.
IN FRANCE, NON-EUROPEAN FOREIGNERS MAKE UP 5.7% OF THE FRENCH POPULATION, BUT ACCOUNT FOR 14% OF HOMICIDES AND UP TO 30% OF VEHICLE THEFTS.
In several German states, including Bavaria, Berlin, and Baden-Württemberg, roughly half of all suspects in violent crimes are non-German nationals.
AS WE REPORTED EARLIER, REPORTS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE HAVE INCREASED ALONGSIDE RISING IMMIGRATION LEVELS IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS SPAIN, ITALY, FRANCE, BELGIUM, AND GERMANY.
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/sex-crime-rises-across-europe-as-western-nations-top-the-list/
The left wingers and even the “compassionate” (towards the illegals but not towards the victims, for whom thee are no marches, no proclamations, no pryaers…) CC claim unemployment etc. as reasons for the rising crime by “immigrants” (the weasel word normally used to refer to illegal aliens). How unemployment would relate to wanting to rape a child, a woman or even a man is not explained.