On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of central Paris to welcome Pope Leo XIV, who was traveling through the city to celebrate a large open-air Mass. The pontiff rode in his popemobile down the Champs-Élysées, waving to enthusiastic crowds beneath the Arc de Triomphe and blessing several infants as he made stops along the route.
Organizers expect more than 500,000 attendees for the ceremony at the Place de la Concorde, where a special altar has been erected. Spectators could be seen wearing white hats and yellow tops, with large scaffolding structures and screens set up to accommodate the massive gathering.
French President Emmanuel Macron met privately with the Pope for an hour on Friday but will not attend any of the Masses during the four-day visit. His absence is intended to maintain strict adherence to France’s laws separating state and religion. However, the President’s wife, Brigitte Macron, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu are expected at the Champs-Élysées event.
Several candidates for next year’s presidential election were also present at the Place de la Concorde, including Marine Le Pen of the National Rally, conservative Bruno Retailleau, and centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal. Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon was also seen among the crowd.
Earlier on Saturday, Pope Leo visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an organization supporting refugees. There, he praised the group for helping society see those who are often invisible and emphasized the importance of living together with dignity and peace. He also highlighted the essential role of women in building a “civilization of love.”
The Pope’s visit follows warnings issued on Friday regarding the dangers of artificial intelligence. Speaking to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace, he cautioned against losing humanity “amid a paradise of machines.”
The papal tour is seen by the Church as evidence of growing spirituality in France and across Europe. The schedule includes a mass in Lourdes on Sunday, attended by an estimated 150,000 people, and a stop in Metz on Monday to honor Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is a candidate for beatification.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, has French ties through his paternal grandmother, who was born in Le Havre in 1894.
500,000 people in central Paris without total chaos? I’m genuinely impressed by the organization this time around.
Wait, Pope Leo XIV is from Chicago? I always assumed he’d be European. The French grandmother connection explains a lot!
Brigitte Macron attending while the President stays away is a clever way to respect laïcité. Respectful and politically savvy.