Pope Francis will visit the Greek island of Lesbos on 16 April, the Vatican has said, in a trip aimed at supporting refugees and drawing attention to the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of people, many fleeing the war in Syria, have arrived on the Aegean island over the past year, but under a contested plan the European Union started returning newcomers to neighbouring Turkey this month.

The pope has repeatedly spoken out in support of refugees, urging Roman Catholic churches around Europe to take in families. His first trip after becoming pontiff in 2013 was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, which, like Lesbos, has received hundreds of thousands of migrants.