Syrians get new home in the Vatican: Pope Francis flies three families back to Italy with him after an emotional visit to Lesbos

, 17 April 2016 |

Pope Francis flew three Syrian families back to Italy with him yesterday, after pleading for more humane treatment of migrants during an emotional visit to the Greek isle of Lesbos.

Reportedly chosen by drawing lots, 12 Muslims – including six children – flew to the Vatican on his private plane after he had met hundreds of distraught refugees on the island, one of the front lines in Europe’s escalating migrant crisis.

Visit: The Pope holds a baby on Lesbos - he flew six children and their families back to Rome yesterday

The Pope’s gesture will be seen as a veiled rebuke of the EU’s controversial policy of sending refugees back from Lesbos to Turkey, though the Vatican insisted that the visit was purely humanitarian.

Earlier in the day, the Pope tweeted: ‘Refugees are not numbers, they are people and need to be treated as such.’

The 12 refugees arrived in Rome along with the Pope shortly before 4pm today following the flight from Lesbos