Pope Leo’s France Visit Tests Faith and Secularism

Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day visit to France on Friday, with a major Mass in central Paris expected to draw more than half a million people. Police have sealed off areas around the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde, where an altar has been erected. Crowds are also expected at events elsewhere on the Pope’s itinerary, including a gathering of young people at the Stade de France, a Mass in Lourdes and events in Metz. The Church sees the turnout as evidence of renewed spiritual interest in France and Europe. President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly airport and hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence. Macron will also share a platform with him in Metz, but will not attend a Mass, in keeping with France’s strict separation of religion and state. His wife, Brigitte, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu are expected at the Paris Mass, alongside several politicians who may run in next year’s presidential election. Reports of tensions over the visit’s ceremonial arrangements were rejected by Élysée officials. They confirmed, however, that the Pope declined Macron’s proposed meeting with craftspeople involved in rebuilding Notre-Dame, citing a tight schedule. The itinerary includes a visit to Notre-Dame, a meeting with migrants in Paris and, in Lourdes, encounters with victims of sexual abuse by clergy. In Metz, Leo will pay tribute to Robert Schuman, a Catholic and founding figure of the European Union who is being considered for beatification. The article also notes Leo’s French family connections and France’s long, complicated history with the Catholic Church, including the papacy’s period in Avignon and Napoleon’s imprisonment of two popes. Although France has become increasingly secular, with fewer than half identifying as Catholic and fewer than 5% attending worship regularly, adult baptisms have more than doubled in five years, reaching 10,000 in 2025. Cardinal François Bustillo says people are searching for meaning and suggests the Pope could help reconnect them with their religious roots.

Pope Leo XIV is making the first official papal visit to France in 18 years. His four-day trip includes meetings with survivors of sexual abuse by Church personnel, speeches to European leaders, public prayer events and visits to prominent Catholic sites. The French Bishops’ Conference has arranged for church bells to ring for seven minutes to mark the journey. Leo, the first US-born pope, also has French family heritage through his paternal grandmother. The visit requires extensive logistics and security. It is estimated to cost €27 million, mostly covered by the Catholic Church in France through donations; the cost of the French security operation has not been disclosed. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said authorities had detected no specific threat but would maintain a major security presence. In Paris, the Pope is scheduled to meet President Emmanuel Macron, speak at UNESCO about topics including artificial intelligence and peace, celebrate Vespers at Notre-Dame, and lead events expected to draw very large crowds. Authorities estimate around 600,000 people for the open-air Mass and a total of one million pilgrims and visitors in Paris. In Lourdes, Leo is due to meet seven survivors of sexual abuse. The article cites a 2021 report estimating that 330,000 children were abused over seven decades by Church personnel in France. Survivor and child-protection activist Arnaud Gallais has questioned the ceremonial welcome and urged the Church to make concrete commitments, while acknowledging the importance of the meeting. The Pope will also address EU leaders in Metz with a speech on Europe, peace and unity. Macron will not attend the papal Masses. His absence follows controversy over his attendance at a 2023 papal Mass and concerns that it could conflict with France’s secularism principle. The Élysée says France can welcome religious enthusiasm while remaining committed to secularism; Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Brigitte Macron are expected to represent the president at the Paris Mass.

The article reports that Pope Leo XIV is traveling to France on Friday, September 25, 2026, for the Vatican’s first state visit to the country in 18 years. The brief report identifies artificial intelligence and young believers as prominent subjects on the pope’s agenda, but does not provide further details about planned events, policy positions, or discussions. It says French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, will greet the 71-year-old pope when he arrives. The report is attributed to FRANCE 24, with contributions from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters. The page also lists France, Pope Leo XIV, religion, and the Catholic Church as keywords. The supplied webpage text ends with a “Page not found” notice, so the available article appears incomplete; it contains no additional coverage of the visit or its outcomes. Accordingly, the report serves primarily as a short announcement of the journey, its unusual timing as the first such state visit in nearly two decades, the main topics expected to feature, and the French officials who will welcome the pope.

Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day state visit to France on Sept. 25, the first official papal visit to the country since Pope Benedict XVI’s trip in 2008. The visit comes seven months before French elections, with the far right seeking power, and is expected to address artificial intelligence, migration, clerical sexual abuse, and peace in Europe. Leo, the first US-born pontiff, will be welcomed near Paris by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. His schedule includes a visit to the presidential palace and a speech at UNESCO on the responsibilities and risks associated with new technologies, as well as human dignity, peace and education. Large crowds are expected at events in Paris. Leo will travel by popemobile to Notre Dame Cathedral, becoming the first pope to inspect its restoration after the 2019 fire. He will also join about 80,000 young believers for prayer and hymns at a stadium in Saint-Denis, where a relic traditionally identified as Jesus’ tunic will be displayed. The article notes the contrast between France’s largely secular population and a recent rise in adult baptisms. On Sept. 26, Leo is due to lead a mass at Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees before travelling to Lourdes. There he will privately meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse. A 2021 inquiry estimated that Church clergy or lay members had abused about 330,000 minors in France over seven decades; further allegations involving prominent figures and Catholic institutions have since emerged. The final stop is Metz, near the German border, where Leo is expected to speak about peace in Europe as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. EU leaders have been invited. The visit combines public religious events with diplomatic and social issues, reflecting the Pope’s planned engagement with France and wider Europe.

The provided excerpt reports that Pope Leo XIV is arriving in France on Friday, at a time when the country is seeing a notable increase in people converting to Catholicism. France is described as a nation long considered a “graveyard of Catholicism” and as “fiercely secular,” making the reported rise in converts a striking development. The article frames this shift as significant beyond France: it presents the country as an unexpected testing ground for efforts to revive the Catholic Church’s fortunes in the West. The excerpt therefore connects the papal visit with a broader question about the church’s prospects in societies where religious affiliation has weakened. It does not include details about the scale or causes of the increase, the converts’ backgrounds, or the pope’s planned activities and remarks. Because the supplied text consists only of the headline and opening paragraph, the summary is limited to those reported points; further claims about the article’s reporting or conclusions would not be supported by the available content.