Pope Francis on Sunday called for diplomatic and political efforts to prevent shipwrecks which cause migrants to perish at sea.
Remembering the 41 migrants who died earlier this week when their boat sank off Italy's coast, the Pope said "with sorrow and shame" we remember that almost 2,000 men, women and children have already died this year at sea trying to reach Europe from North Africa.
He called these tragedies an "open wound of humanity," Vatican News reported.
The boat set off from Tunisia's Sfax, but capsized and sank after a few hours, before reaching Lampedusa island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland.
