On Friday, Pope Leo XIV began a four‑day tour of France, with the highlight a Mass on Saturday that is expected to attract more than 600,000 Catholics along the Champs‑Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe. An altar has been erected on the Place de la Concorde and police have sealed a large area around the avenue to manage the crowds.
President Emmanuel Macron will welcome the Pope at Orly Airport on Friday morning and then hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence. He will also deliver a joint speech with the Pope in Metz on Monday, but will not attend any of the Masses to respect France’s strict separation of state and religion. Instead, his wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will be present at the Champs‑Élysées Mass, along with several presidential candidates including Marine Le Pen, Edouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau.
After a Popemobile ride to Notre‑Dame Cathedral on Friday afternoon, the Pope will meet a group of migrants in Paris and later in Lourdes he will meet survivors of clergy sexual abuse. On Sunday, 150,000 people are expected to attend Mass at the Lourdes sanctuary. In Metz, he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union and a Catholic candidate for beatification.
The visit follows a long tradition of papal tours in France, with recent popes such as John‑Paul II and Pope Francis having visited multiple times. France’s secularisation has seen Catholic worship drop from 35 % of the population in 1960 to less than 5 % today, yet recent years have shown a rise in adult baptisms, doubling to 10,000 in 2025. Cardinal François Bustillo of Ajaccio said the Pope’s presence “awakens the West” and offers a reminder of spiritual roots.
Observers note that tensions reportedly arose between Macron and the Vatican’s arrangements team, with the president allegedly seeking a more ceremonial role for the visit. Élysée officials dismissed the claims, noting that the Pope declined a meeting with artisans who rebuilt Notre‑Dame, citing a tight agenda.
As the Pope’s itinerary unfolds, the world will watch how his presence influences France’s religious landscape and the broader European dialogue on faith and public life.
