“May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family,” he said.

The comments came as thousands of refugees from Syria arrived in Austria and Germany after an exhausting journey form Hungary, amid an escalating debate within the EU about how to handle the crisis.

The European commission is expected to release a proposal this week calling for EU members to agree to a quota system in which each would agree to host a portion of an estimated 160,000 refugees.

In Germany and other parts of Europe, thousands of migrants have been welcomed by volunteers who have donated food and clothing. But the pope is calling on the faithful to do more.