Pope Leo XIV holds Paris mass for 800,000, Vatican says

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air mass at Place de la Concorde in Paris on Saturday, September 26, with about 800,000 people gathered along the Champs Elysees and beyond the Arc de Triomphe, the Vatican said.

The 71-year-old pope rode in the popemobile along the Champs Elysees before the service, as crowds carrying French and Vatican flags gathered in the sealed-off city centre. A large white canopy was used as a temporary altar, and screens were installed so worshippers could follow the hour-and-a-half service.

The mass was a central moment in Pope Leo's four-day trip to France, described as the first official papal visit to the country in nearly two decades. Several political figures attended, including Marine Le Pen and Edouard Philippe. President Emmanuel Macron did not attend and was represented by his wife, Brigitte Macron.

Earlier on Saturday, Pope Leo visited Maison Bakhita, an association supporting refugees, and met migrants there. He said it was possible for people to meet one another and live together in dignity and peace, and also spoke about the role of women.

On Friday, an estimated 300,000 people turned out to see the pope as he travelled by popemobile to Notre Dame Cathedral. He also urged France to remain a “tireless champion of peace” and warned about ethics in artificial intelligence.

Pope Leo was due to travel later Saturday to Lourdes, where Catholic tradition says the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858. On Sunday, he was scheduled to speak with seven victims of clerical sex abuse. A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Catholic Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France over seven decades.

He was also set to deliver a speech about peace in Europe in Metz on Monday.