Pope Francis has said
Mass for migrants on Italy's tiny island of Lampedusa, condemning the
"global indifference" to their plight.
On arrival, he threw a wreath in the sea in memory of the many people who have drowned trying to reach Europe.A small boat carrying 166 Africans - reportedly Eritreans - arrived at Lampedusa's port just hours before the Pope's plane touched down.
The island is struggling to cope with thousands of illegal migrants.
Lampedusa, about 80 miles (120km) from Tunisia, is one of the nearest gateways to Europe for Africans fleeing poverty and conflict.
Tens of thousands of migrants have made the dangerous crossing in recent years, usually packed into rickety wooden boats exposed to the elements.
As Francis arrived on a coast guard ship, dozens of Lampedusan fishing boats sailed in nearby.
The Pope is on his first pastoral visit outside Rome since his election in March.
"Pope Francis, only you can save us," read a banner on one of the boats.
"You're one of us," said a sign hanging from an apartment near the port.
Some residents threw flowers into the water and chanted "Viva il Papa" as his vessel docked.
Francis, an Argentine Jesuit, met and spoke to a few migrants, then rode in an open-topped car - rather than the Popemobile often used by predecessors - to the site for Mass, near a "boat cemetery" where the hulks of shipwrecked migrant boats lie in the sun.