This week we celebrate the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ pontificate. Throughout his ten-year pontificate, Pope Francis has presented us with a God who is merciful and just. He has made the plight of migrants and refugees around the world a key theme, not only in words but also in actions.

If there is one thing that has characterised Pope Francis’ approach to migration, it is his ability to empathise with people and concrete situations, bringing his journey closer to that of so many people who leave their homes through multiple gestures, which can be condensed into four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate.

The pontificate of Pope Francis has witnessed a great increase in the number of displaced people in the world, noting that migration is one of the phenomena that best represents and explains the identity and evolution of humanity and Christianity from its origins to the present day.

Where some people consider migration a threat, Pope Francis sees an opportunity; where some emphasise the “others”, he puts the emphasis on building a “we”. In the last decade, few world leaders have raised their voices on behalf of migrants and refugees with such prophecy.

Pope Francis follows in the path of the Magisterium of the Church, which, especially since the 20th century, has demonstrated a special sensitivity, with a strong involvement in the pastoral dimension of human mobility, with all the opportunities and challenges posed by a humanity in continuous movement.

JRS Europe would like to thank Pope Francis for his closeness and commitment to the most vulnerable migrants during his 10 years of pontificate, and we do so by compiling and sharing the 12 documents that in our view are the most important in the Magisterium of the Church on Human Mobility.