By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Pope Leo, the first U.S. leader of the global Catholic Church, will spend the Independence Day holiday this year visiting an Italian island known as the first port of call for migrants sailing from North Africa for Europe.
The pope will visit Lampedusa on July 4, the Vatican announced on Thursday, as part of a series of visits he will make this summer to cities across Italy.
Lampedusa sits in the Mediterranean between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily. The Lampedusa visit will come on the day the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence.
Leo, originally from Chicago, has called for "deep reflection" about the way migrants are being treated in the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration.
The Vatican earlier this month refuted reports that the pope might travel to the U.S. for the celebrations this year, with the press office stating: "The pope will not go to the United States in 2026."
Lampedusa is a destination on what has become one of the world's deadliest migration routes, where many people land after crossing the Mediterranean often in simple fishing boats or makeshift dinghies.
The island was visited by the late Pope Francis in 2013 on his first visit as pope outside Rome.
In a video message sent to the island in September, Leo had mentioned a desire to visit and had thanked local organizations who offer assistance to arriving migrants.
He said volunteers on the island "have shown … the smile and the attention of a human face to people who have survived in a desperate journey of hope."
Among the other trips the Vatican announced on Thursday, Leo will visit the cities of Pompei, Naples and Acerra in May, Pavia in June, and Assisi and Rimini in August.
(Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
