The Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, has expressed worries over the mighty waves of refugees pouring into Europe.

The head of the Catholic Church warned on Monday that European values were being threatened by the flood of immigrants mostly from Africa and the Middle East. He also expressed concerns over the security and international terrorism implications of a surge of migrants into Europe.

“The present wave of migration seems to be undermining the foundations of that ‘humanistic

spirit’ which Europe has always loved and defended,” Pope Francis said in an annual address to Diplomats at the Vatican City.

Despite the potential risks, he hoped that Europe would be able to cope with the demands of integrating and accepting immigrants.

“Europe, aided by its great cultural and religious heritage, has the means to defend the centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between its two-fold moral responsibility to

protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance and acceptance to migrants,” he said.

Last year alone, more than a million people, fleeing violence and hardship from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, sojourned to Europe in search of a new and better life.

•Photo shows Pope Francis.