Pope Leo Set for Largest Event of France Tour as Paris Crowds Swell
The Vatican said 700,000 attended as the pope urged French Catholics to keep faith despite a steep decline in churchgoing.
- Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at Place de la Concorde in Paris on Saturday, drawing an estimated 700,000 people, exceeding the 600,000 who registered in advance.
- Organizers faced criticism from secularism supporters for choosing Place de la Concorde, designed in the 18th century as a French Revolution execution site, with critics arguing the Invalides would have been more appropriate.
- Adult baptisms in France have tripled since 2016 to 13,000 this year, though long-term trends show decline; entrepreneur Thierry Chen noted the event reminds people of "what is really important in life."
- During his homily, Pope Leo encouraged French Catholics to persevere in their faith "even amid the thorns" and prayed that the "living water of the Holy Spirit" may flow throughout France.
- Pope Leo will continue his four-day visit by praying at the Catholic shrine at Lourdes after Paris, following his prayer service Friday at the restored Notre Dame Cathedral, the first papal prayer there since its 2019 fire.
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The Holy Father has urged those gathered to "bring hope where spiritual discouragement and aridity reign."
Pope Leo draws 800,000 people to central Paris for open-air Mass on iconic square
Hundreds of thousands of people packed Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées avenue to attend an open-air Mass with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, a sign of the Catholic Church’s enduring appeal in the once staunchly Catholic but officially secular country.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in central Paris on the second day of his historic visit to France, attended by around 700,000 people. The crowd stretched more than two kilometers across the French capital, and the pope was greeted with French and Vatican flags as he drove down the Champs-Élysées.
The pontiff was acclaimed by 800,000 people in Paris for his descent from the Champs-Elysées followed by a giant mass.
On the second day of his visit to France, Pope Leo XIV celebrated a mass in the Place de la Concorde in central Paris, which the Vatican said was attended by around 700,000 people. The Pope arrived in the square in a popemobile along the Champs Elysées, where he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds.
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