It’s six years since Pope Francis, after reading reports of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean as their makeshift rafts collapsed, suddenly decided to visit the island of Lampedusa off the coast of southern Italy. He was so keen to go that he tried to bypass Vatican protocol by trying to book himself on to an Alitalia flight.

That trip to Lampedusa, a main point of arrival for refugees, was his first time out of Rome as Pope. It set the tone for a pontificate that would prioritise pastoral emergencies and be unafraid to enter into the political fray. Since then, Francis has learnt to balance the different poles of thought within the Vatican on the migrants question while remaining true to his original instinct: to speak out from the heart about the plight of those fleeing war and poverty in search of a better life.

His policy is simple and evangelical: welcome the stranger. On Monday, celebrating a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for around 250 migrants, refugees, and those dedicated to saving their lives, he marked the sixth anniversary of his Lampedusa trip. The liturgy took place at the altar of the Chair of St Peter, a place that like no other symbolises the mission and authority of the papacy. During his homily, he talked about migrants “tortured, abused and violated in detention camps” and in camps “too long for them to be called temporary”. Working closely with him in helping migrants is the lay Catholic community of Sant’Egidio and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development under the leadership of the Ghanaian cardinal, Peter Turkson.