Pope Leo XIV’s four-day visit to France began in Paris on Friday with addresses at the Élysée Palace and UNESCO, followed by Vespers at Notre-Dame and a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France. On Saturday, he met catechumens and newly baptised Catholics before celebrating an outdoor Mass in Place de la Concorde and along the Champs-Élysées. He then travelled to Lourdes, where he prayed at the grotto of the apparitions.
At Lourdes on Sunday, the Pope met the French bishops, celebrated Mass and joined pilgrims for the Angelus, before greeting sick pilgrims and their carers and taking part in the evening Rosary and torchlight procession. The visit concluded in Metz on Monday with an interreligious gathering and an address on Europe, peace and unity at the Robert Schuman conference centre. After greeting crowds from the popemobile, Leo celebrated the closing Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral before returning to Rome.
