Papal delegation visits refugee camps on Lesvos, Samos

A delegation of cardinals from the Vatican arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos on Wednesday to visit the state reception facility for migrants near the village of Moria.

The high-level delegation is also expected to have talks with members of non-governmental organizations working with migrants at the camp, which rights groups have unanimously criticized for its overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

The delegation – which includes the papal almoner, Konrad Krajewski, and Jean-Claude Hollerich, the archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union – are Thursday set to visit Samos, where the Vathy reception center is said to be even more cramped than Moria.

The visit follows one by Pope Francis himself in April 2016.