Paris turned into a sea of white and yellow on Saturday as huge crowds filled the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to welcome Pope Leo XIV for the defining event of his weekend visit to France: an outdoor Mass attended by an estimated 700,000 people.
The gathering stretched for more than 2km through central Paris, running from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. Worshippers waved flags and leaned against security barriers, hoping for even a brief view of the pontiff.
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“Leo, Leo” and “Long live the Pope” rang along the tree-lined boulevard as the pope passed in an open-top popemobile.
The vehicle stopped repeatedly as Leo blessed babies, children and people with disabilities who were brought forward by volunteers.
Geraldine Pambou, 42, said she wanted the pope to continue using his platform to call for peace.
“The most important thing is that he emphasises world peace,” she said. “There are too many wars.”
More than 600,000 people registered for the mid-afternoon Mass, while the Vatican put the turnout at about 700,000.
Pope Leo is making a whirlwind four-day visit to three French cities as he seeks to rebuild the Catholic Church’s standing after abuse scandals triggered widespread shock across the country.
The pope has repeatedly condemned the course of global leadership in recent months. In a speech yesterday at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, the UN culture and education body, he warned that the United Nations and other multilateral institutions were facing a crisis.
He also renewed his call for a rethink of artificial intelligence, warning French leaders that the technology could usher in a future in which “a paradise of machines” takes control of the Earth.
Pierre-Marie Estienne, 36, stood among those awaiting Leo’s Mass in central Paris with his wife and their four young children.
“We live in an era of great materialism,” he said. “There is a lot of evil around us, so we need a message of hope and love.”
Pope visits newly baptised Catholics
France has seen a sustained decline in Catholic affiliation since World War II, reflecting a broader shift across countries with traditionally strong Catholic identities.
The French Bishops’ Conference has highlighted a rise in adult baptisms, including a record 21,000 last Easter. But a report from the official statistics agency, INSEE, found that just 25% of French people aged 18 to 49 identified as Catholic, down from 43% a decade earlier.
During a meeting with newly baptised Catholics at the Catholic University of Paris, Pope Leo cautioned the French church against being “naively optimistic” about the recent growth in adherents.
“We must recognise, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns,” he said.
Pope Leo will travel later to Lourdes, home to a Catholic shrine. Tomorrow, he is due to meet seven French victims of abuse by clergy there.
