Pope Leo XIV celebrated a historic open-air mass in Paris on Saturday, drawing hundreds of thousands of faithful to the iconic Champs-Elysees. The 71-year-old pope led the mass at Place de la Concorde, where a giant white canopy had been erected as a makeshift altar. The event was part of his four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholic roots.
The mass was attended by approximately 700,000 people, according to the Vatican. The city centre was sealed off for the service, with helicopters circling overhead and snipers positioned on rooftops. Parents arrived with pushchairs and children perched on their shoulders as crowds hoped to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. This was the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades.
Pope Leo XIV's visit stirred enthusiasm and spiritual fervour among the faithful. Ahead of the mass, Suzanne Grange, 62, expressed her excitement, saying, "We're incredibly lucky." Her husband Pascal, 65, added, "We were already lucky enough to see Pope John Paul II in Paris back in 1980." The pope's visit comes seven months before voters choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
A number of politicians were present at the mass, including far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella and former president Nicolas Sarkozy. Macron was not expected to attend the mass and was represented by his wife Brigitte. Earlier in the day, the pope met migrants at Maison Bakhita, an association supporting refugees, and stressed the importance of living together in dignity and peace.
The pope also emphasized the fundamental role of women in building a "civilisation of love." Fifteen-year-old Alix, who attended the service, said seeing the pope would be "really something" because he is "God's representative on Earth." The association said the pope's visit sent a "message" ahead of the April-May election.
On Friday, an estimated 300,000 people turned out to see the pontiff as he waved from his popemobile on the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Francois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory on Religion, noted that there is a sense of fervour reminiscent of that experienced over 40 years ago with John Paul II. The pope also stressed the need for ethics to avoid an AI-driven "paradise of machines."
After the mass in Paris, Pope Leo will head to Lourdes, a town in southwestern France, where he will speak with seven victims of clerical sex abuse. A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France over seven decades. The pope's trip will conclude in Metz on Monday, where he is expected to deliver a speech about peace in Europe.
Key points
- Hundreds of thousands of faithful attended the historic mass in Paris.
- The pope emphasized the importance of living together in dignity and peace.
- The visit stirred enthusiasm and spiritual fervour among the faithful in France.
