Pope Francis takes 12 refugees back to Vatican

The Syrian refugees were chosen from amongst those who were already present in the refugee camp on Lesbos before the recent deal was signed between the EU and Turkey.

According to Vatican Radio, the Director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, said the Pope had wished to make a gesture of welcome and solidarity on behalf of the refugees and the initiative had been organized and made possible during discussions between the (Vatican) Secretariat of State and the relevant Greek and Italian authorities.

All the members of the three Syrian refugee families are Muslims. Two of the families come from Damascus and the third one comes from Deir Azzor which is located in an area controlled by the so-called Isis group.

The homes of all three families were destroyed by shelling. The Vatican will be taking care of the costs involved in housing and taking care of the refugees. Father Lombardi said the Sant’Egidio community will be providing the initial shelter for them.

The aouncement capped a brief one-day trip by the pope to Greece that again placed the plight of migrants at the centre of his papacy.

“We have come to call the attention of the world to this grave humanitarian crisis and to plead for its resolution,” Francis said during a lunchtime visit to the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, where he was joined by leaders of Easte Orthodox Christian churches.