Pope Francis called on Sunday on every European church parish and religious community to take in one refugee family in a gesture of solidarity, which he said would start in the tiny Vatican state where he lives.

"I appeal to the parishes, the religious communities, the monasteries and sanctuaries of all Europe to ... take in one family of refugees," he said after his Sunday address in the papal enclave.

The pope's call goes out to tens of thousands of Catholic parishes in Europe as the number of refugees and migrants arriving over land through the Balkans and across the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece hits record levels.