Lampedusa Cross

In 2016 a boat carrying 500 refugees from Eritrea and Somalia capsized and sank off the island of Lampedusa, South of Italy. 349 people died.

Francesco Tuccio, a Sicilian carpenter, made crosses from the wreckage. He offered the crosses to the survivors. ’I have never seen so much suffering in all my life. To see people going through so much pain was very hard. I wanted to create crosses to give hope for a better future for those who were suffering so much’. He collected the wood from the wreckage of boats that refugees used to make the perilous journey to Europe and fashioned it into crosses. One of these crosses is on display in the British Library.

At St Pius Xth, we also have one hanging above the Gospel Book stand whilst at the back of St Dunstan’s there is now a picture of it. We encourage you to stop, pray and read the poem beside them, first top to bottom and then bottom to top!!

Behind the simplicity of this rough and humble wooden cross lies the desperation and suffering of refugees the world over.