Pope Leo XIV has arrived in France for a four-day state visit that will take him from Paris to Lourdes and Metz. The pontiff's visit, which runs from 25 to 28 September 2026, combines diplomacy with public worship. This is the first state trip to France by Leo, the only American pope, whose paternal grandmother was born in France. Preparations are underway in central Paris, where a giant white canopy has been erected on the Place de la Concorde ahead of an open-air mass on Saturday.
The visit marks a significant event in France, a country with a rich Catholic heritage, yet also a strong secular tradition. Only around 5 percent of France's 69 million residents regularly attend Catholic services, according to a survey last year. Despite this, the French Catholic Church has seen signs of renewed interest among younger adults, with infant baptisms declining but adult baptisms rising. François Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, notes that the Catholic Church in France is a "laboratory for some major trends that we begin to see at European level, and perhaps throughout the West."
Pope Leo's visit comes as France prepares for a presidential election next year, and amid a backdrop of political fragmentation and support for the far right. President Emmanuel Macron will formally welcome Leo at the Elysée Palace on Friday, several months after the two met at the Vatican. The Pope will then travel to the headquarters of Unesco, where artificial intelligence is expected to be one of the themes of his address.
The Pope has repeatedly raised concerns over the rapid development of AI, calling for the technology to be "disarmed" to prevent it from dominating humanity. He will later travel by popemobile to Notre-Dame Cathedral, which reopened in December 2024 following a five-year reconstruction after the devastating fire of April 2019. On Friday evening, Leo will join tens of thousands of Catholics aged between 17 and 35 for a prayer gathering at the Stade de France stadium outside Paris.
On Saturday, Pope Leo will meet migrants before celebrating mass at the Place de la Concorde, with hundreds of thousands of worshippers expected to fill the Champs-Élysées. Around 600,000 people have signed up to attend the open-air mass, reflecting the enduring presence of Catholicism in France. The visit puts tension between French secularism and Catholicism in the spotlight, as the country navigates its complex relationship with the Catholic Church.
On Sunday, Pope Leo will travel south to Lourdes, one of the world's best-known Catholic pilgrimage sites. He will celebrate mass in a field near the grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. The Pope will also hold a private meeting with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse, as the Catholic Church continues to confront the legacy of abuse within its institutions.
The Pope's final stop on Monday will be Metz in north-eastern France, where he will deliver an address expected to focus on peace and the future of Europe. EU heads of state and government have been invited to attend, according to a French presidential source. Leo is also due to meet representatives of France's main religious communities, who are expected to sign a joint declaration on peace by the close of his four-day visit.
Key points
- The visit marks the first state trip to France by Pope Leo XIV, the only American pope.
- The Pope's visit combines diplomacy with public worship, reflecting the enduring presence of Catholicism in France.
- The visit puts tension between French secularism and Catholicism in the spotlight, as the country navigates its complex relationship with the Catholic Church.
