28 May 2026, by Gabriele Amenta
Pope Leo XIV will visit the island of Lampedusa on 4th July. It is a place that has become a symbol of both migration and welcome. Since last November, Carla Locatelli has been living in the Focolare Centre there. She shares something of her experience.
When Carla accepted the invitation to move to Lampedusa, she knew when she would arrive, but not how long she would stay. The decision came after a deep personal and communal discernment. Following months of reflection and dialogue, she felt called to be part of a small Focolare presence on the island. “I quickly realised that you don’t come to Lampedusa simply to ‘see migrants’,” Carla explained. “In reality, migrants are largely invisible to everyday life on the island. To meet them, you need access to the harbour where the boats arrive.”
That access came through the Forum Lampedusa Solidale, a grassroots network of associations, parish groups and local citizens who work together to welcome migrants and defend their rights. Through them, Carla witnessed her first migrant landing.
The community of focolarine was established almost two years ago with a simple aim: to be close to everyone. “We want to be a fraternal and dialoguing presence,” said Carla, “close both to migrants and to the local community.”
Lampedusa’s residents have shown extraordinary generosity over the years, welcoming people fleeing war, poverty and instability. Yet life on the island is complex. Tourism remains the main source of income, and many local people long for a greater sense of normality after years of living in a state of constant emergency.
After an initial visit, Carla returned to Naples, where she had been living, but eventually offered her full availability. In November 2025 she moved permanently to Lampedusa. She continues her work remotely with the International Centre of the Focolare while volunteering at the Favarolo harbour whenever migrant boats arrive.
In 2025 alone, almost 40,000 people reached Lampedusa, many after long and dangerous journeys.
“I arrived on tiptoe,” Carla said. “I wanted first to listen – to our community, to local people, and to these brothers and sisters who arrive.”
At the harbour, welcome takes the form of simple gestures: offering a cup of tea, distributing sandals, helping people find a bathroom, sharing a smile or a non-judgemental glance. “What strikes me most is the moment of arrival. Many are very young. They are happy simply to have arrived. You can see hope for the future in their eyes.”
One group of men arriving from Iran, Pakistan and other countries told her, in English, “At last we are safe.”
Yet alongside the joy of arrival comes a painful question: what happens next?
“There are reception centres and many generous people,” Carla reflected, “but true integration is a much more complex process. Too often, policies focus more on security and border control than on helping people build a new life.”
What remains with her most are the faces, the eyes and the gratitude.
“When I offer a smile, I almost always receive one in return. Sometimes young people even call me ‘Mama’. It’s their way of saying thank you.”
She recalls helping a mother who had arrived with a tiny child, soaked, dirty and crying. After they helped change the child into dry clothes, the tears stopped and the child looked at them with wide, trusting eyes.
Another time, a woman was shivering uncontrollably after arriving drenched from the sea. Carla found dry clothes for her and helped her change. “When she finished, she embraced me. Such gestures speak volumes. Gratitude is always present in the human heart.”
Children, too, often arrive soaked and cold. Sometimes the only available clothes are much too large, but they are grateful simply to be dry.
Then there are the feet of those who have travelled so far. “When I hand out sandals and see those wounded feet, I think of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. It is a very powerful image.”
Alongside these moments of tenderness is also a sense of powerlessness.
“You would like to do much more,” Carla admits. “But then you realise that perhaps all you can offer are small gestures. Yet nothing is small if it is done with love. That thought gives me peace.”
Working at the harbour also means respecting strict limits. Access is granted by the authorities and can be withdrawn at any time. Carla’s role is not to question or investigate. “My task is simply to offer a smile, a warm drink, sandals, practical help and a welcoming presence.”
Sometimes even accompanying a woman to the bathroom becomes an act of restoring dignity. Carla remembers helping a woman wearing a veil who struggled to ask for an extra bottle of water because the facilities lacked running water. “It struck me how humiliating it must feel to arrive in Europe and not even have access to a bathroom with running water. It certainly would be for me.”
Migrants often ask how they can contact their families. Volunteers explain that they will soon have access to Wi-Fi, showers, clean clothes and legal assistance. When interpreters are available, communication becomes easier. When they are not, gestures, smiles and a few shared words become the common language.
“You realise how important it is simply to reassure people that they are not alone.”
Carla believes that migration receives far less attention than it deserves. Public discussion often focuses only on tragedies — shipwrecks, deaths at sea, or dramatic rescues — while the daily reality remains largely unseen. “Boats continue to arrive, often almost every day. Yet we hear very little about it. And when we do, the full complexity of what happens here is rarely conveyed.”
For Carla, Lampedusa has become a place of listening rather than easy answers. A place where fraternity is lived in practical ways and where even the smallest gesture can become significant.
What sustains her is a simple Gospel principle: “Treat others as you would like them to treat you.”
And also the words of Jesus: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
https://www.focolaritalia.it/2026/05/28/lampedusa-la-fraternita-in-punta-di-piedi/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=newsletter-maggio-2026