On the occasion of World Refugee Day, an ecumenical prayer vigil"Dying of Hope" was held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and the square in front of it, to remember the thousands who lost their lives trying to reach Europe. The prayer was presided over by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar of Pope Leo XIV for the Diocese of Rome, and promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio together with numerous organisations engaged in reception and integration migrants: Centro Astalli, Caritas Italiana, Fondazione Migrantes, the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, ACLI, Scalabrini International Migration Network, Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII, and ACSE.
Over 70,000 people have died or disappeared since 1990 along migration routes—at sea, in deserts, and forests—as they attempted to flee war, poverty, persecution, and hunger. During the celebration, some of the victims’ names were read aloud and candles were lit in their memory in front of a cross made of wood recovered from shipwrecked boats.
During the vigil, Cardinal Reina made an urgent appeal to conscience: every person, especially the most vulnerable, must be respected, loved, welcomed, and given the opportunity to build a future. He spoke of the need to foster a shared culture of welcome and respect, also to be reflected in political decisions that protect human dignity. Recalling the more than 70,000 victims, he noted that those perilous journeys were driven by the dream of a better life, far from war, hunger, and lack of work.
We cannot remain indifferent to this cry of pain. People of different religious beliefs and opinions united in a common invocation: “We are human only to the extent that we are aware of others. We are all brothers and sisters,” he added, “and therefore, we are responsible for each other’s lives.”
According to data released during the vigil, over 38% of migrants who have died or gonet missing in the last five years are women and children. This figure adds further urgency to this silent tragedy. And although arrivals have decreased, death rate has risen, due to the lack of safe routes and sea rescue missions. Hence the urgent call to reactivate legal channels of access, such as humanitarian corridors, which represent an effective model of protection and integration.
Many of the participants were migrants who reached Italy through humanitarian corridors. They were joined by relatives and friends of those who lost their lives at sea—witnesses to a pain that continues to challenge our conscience.
