In a video message released on Saturday by the Vatican, the Pope spoke to the people of Greece and Cyprus ahead of his upcoming visit.

On 2 December, Pope Francis will head to both countries, also stopping on the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of migrants have arrived after crossing the sea from Turkish shores in order to reach Europe.

“I am also thinking of those who, in recent years and still today, have been fleeing from war and poverty, landing on the shores of the continent and elsewhere, and encountering not hospitality but hostility and even exploitation,” the Pope said in his message.

The Pope called the Mediterranean “a great cemetery” and prayed for “fraternity and integration” going forward.

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