Pope León XIV arrived in Gran Canaria on Thursday to center his visit on the challenges facing migrants [1].

The visit highlights the humanitarian crisis at Spain's borders and uses the religious platform to draw international attention to the precarious conditions of asylum seekers.

On the sixth day of his apostolic journey through Spain [2], the pontiff visited the port of Arguineguín [1]. The site is known locally as the “muelle de la vergüenza,” or the port of shame, due to the humanitarian crisis that occurred there in 2020 [1]. During the COVID-19 pandemic that year, nearly 3,000 immigrants arrived at the port [1].

Accompanying the Pope were local church officials, including Bishop José Mazuelos, auxiliary Bishop Cristóbal Déniz, and diocesan coordinator Enélida Hernández [1]. The visit to the port served as a focal point for the Pope's message on migrant rights and dignity [1].

Following the ceremony at the port, the Pope participated in a papamóvil procession [1]. The route began at the Teatro Pérez Galdós and concluded at the Cathedral of Santa Ana in Las Palmas [1]. This procession allowed the pontiff to engage with the local community before moving toward the cathedral for further religious services [3].

The itinerary in Gran Canaria spanned Thursday, June 11, and Friday, June 12, 2026 [2]. This leg of the trip served as the conclusion to the Pope’s broader apostolic journey across Spain [1].

“The site is known locally as the “muelle de la vergüenza,” or the port of shame.”

By visiting Arguineguín, Pope León XIV is explicitly linking the Catholic Church's moral authority to a specific failure in migrant management. The reference to the 2020 influx of 3,000 people transforms a standard diplomatic visit into a critique of the humanitarian conditions at the Spanish border, signaling a priority for the papacy to address migration as a core human rights issue.