Pope Leo XIV draws an estimated 700,000 to an open-air Mass in Paris on the first official papal visit to France in 18 years

The Vatican estimated 700,000 attended the open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde on Saturday, the second day of Pope Leo XIV’s four-day tour of France.

The visit is the first official papal visit to France in 18 years, undertaken as the Catholic Church seeks to restore its standing five years after an inquiry found 330,000 children were abused by clergy and lay members over seven decades. Catholic Church influence in secular France has dwindled in recent decades. The Pope has also been challenging France’s recently approved assisted dying law.

A procession down the Champs-Élysées

The Pope rode in his popemobile along the 1.9-km Champs-Élysées, waving to cheering crowds beneath the Arc de Triomphe. He blessed several babies at different stages along the route, and chants of ‘Leo, Leo’ rang out along the avenue. A special altar was built on the Place de la Concorde for the ceremony. Some 600,000 had registered in advance for the Mass, though the Vatican’s attendance estimate ran higher.

“There is a sense of fervour reminiscent of that experienced over 40 years ago with John Paul II,” Francois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory on Religion, told broadcaster RMC.

Political figures in attendance, Macron absent

French President Emmanuel Macron met the Pope on Friday and gave a speech at the Élysée Palace but did not attend the Mass. His absence was largely to avoid breaching France’s strict separation of state and religion. Brigitte Macron attended in his place. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was also at the Champs-Élysées Mass. Marine Le Pen, who currently leads polls ahead of next year’s election due in mid-April, attended the event at the Place de la Concorde. Conservative Bruno Retailleau was pictured at the square ahead of the ceremony. Centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal were due to attend. Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon was seen at the Place de la Concorde as well.

Warnings on AI and messages on migrants and diversity

On Friday, the Pope gave a speech at the Élysée Palace in which he warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, cautioning against ‘a paradise of machines’ that could cause people to lose their humanity. An estimated 300,000 turned out that day to see the Pope en route to Notre Dame Cathedral. On Saturday, before the Mass, he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and met migrants there. He praised the organisation for inviting ‘us to see those who are invisible’ and said it was ‘possible to encounter one another and to live together in dignity and peace.’ He also stressed ‘the fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love.’ In his Élysée speech, he praised French society as the result of ‘a people whose diverse origins have enlivened and enriched the nation and its democracy.’

Lourdes and Metz ahead

The Pope is scheduled to travel to Lourdes on Sunday, where 150,000 have signed up to attend Mass. There he will meet seven French victims abused by clergy. On Monday, he will visit Metz to pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a candidate for beatification. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago in 1955, originally called Robert Prevost. His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894.