Rome, Italy, Dec 2, 2019 / 10:19 am
On Thursday, the Holy See will welcome 33 refugees to Italy as they arrive from the Greek island of Lesbos with papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. Another 10 refugees will come later in December.
The asylum seekers are from Afghanistan, Togo, and Cameroon.
The humanitarian corridor was organized at the request of Pope Francis, who in May asked the papal almoner to show the Holy See's solidarity with refugees by supporting some young people and families fleeing conflict in their countries, helping them to seek asylum in Italy.
After months of negotiation between the Office of Papal Charities and the Italian Ministry of the Interior, permission was granted to bring the group of migrants to Italy to apply for asylum, according to a statement from the Holy See charity office.