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Hundreds of thousands of worshippers filled the heart of Paris on Saturday as Pope Leo XIV celebrated a vast open-air Mass in the French capital, in one of the most significant papal gatherings the city has seen in recent memory. Crowds lined the Champs-Élysées beneath the Arc de Triomphe, cheering and waving as the pontiff travelled the famous avenue aboard his popemobile, according to the BBC.
Organisers expect more than half a million people to attend the ceremony at the Place de la Concorde, where a specially constructed altar has been erected for the occasion. The scale of the event underscores the central role the visit has assumed in the Vatican's efforts to engage with believers across Europe, a continent where regular church attendance has declined sharply over recent decades.
The atmosphere along the avenue was exuberant, with chants of "Leo, Leo" rising from the crowds as the Pope made his way towards the square. At several points along the route, he paused to bless infants held up by their parents, a gesture that appeared to delight onlookers packed behind barriers. Many in the crowd waved French flags, while others raised phones and cameras to capture the moment.
Saturday's Mass forms the centrepiece of a four-day visit to France that has combined public celebration with a pointed moral message. The Pope's itinerary has been carefully calibrated to balance the ceremonial duties of his office with the sensitivities of a country whose constitution enshrines a strict separation between the state and religion.
That principle, known in France as laïcité, helps explain the conspicuous absence of President Emmanuel Macron from any of the papal Masses. Macron met the Pope privately for an hour of talks on Friday, but has chosen not to attend religious services during the visit. The Élysée Palace has not framed the decision as a snub; rather, it reflects a long-standing constitutional convention that keeps the head of state at arm's length from religious observance in an official capacity.
The presidential absence did not mean the Mass went unnoticed by the political class, however. Brigitte Macron, the president's wife, was present, as was Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Their attendance signalled respect for the occasion without crossing the line that the presidency guards so carefully.
The gathering also drew a remarkable cross-section of figures from next year's presidential election campaign, turning the Place de la Concorde into an improbable stage for the country's political future. Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally and the conservative figure Bruno Retailleau were both photographed at the square before the ceremony began. Centrist contenders Edouard Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre and a former prime minister, and Gabriel Attal were likewise expected to be in attendance, along with former prime minister François Fillon.
The presence of so many political heavyweights in one place spoke to the symbolic weight of the papal visit in a country that likes to describe itself as secular but remains, in cultural terms, deeply shaped by its Catholic heritage. Analysts noted that appearing at such an event carries a subtle political calculus, allowing candidates to signal cultural affinity without making explicit religious appeals.
Earlier in the day, before the Mass, the Pope turned his attention to some of the most vulnerable people in French society. He visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association that supports refugees and migrants, where he praised the organisation for inviting people "to see those who are invisible." His words carried particular resonance in a country where immigration policy has become one of the most contested issues in public life.
Speaking during that visit, the Pope said it was "possible to encounter one another and to live together in dignity and peace," a message that dovetailed with his broader appeal for solidarity. He also emphasised what he described as the fundamental role of women in building what he called a civilisation of love, a phrase that has become something of a hallmark of his pontificate.
The refugee centre carries its own symbolic charge. It is named after Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman who was enslaved as a child and later became a Catholic nun in Italy, and who is venerated as a saint. Choosing such a location for a papal engagement signals a deliberate emphasis on the Church's mission to those on the margins, a theme that has defined much of Leo's public ministry.
The Pope's social message has been matched during this trip by a striking warning about the pace of technological change. At the start of his visit on Friday, speaking to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace, he cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines," a direct reference to the rapid advance of artificial intelligence. The remark positions him among a growing chorus of religious and ethical voices urging caution as AI systems become embedded in everyday life.
The Vatican has increasingly sought to frame the AI debate in moral terms, arguing that technological progress must be measured against its effects on human dignity, work, and community. By raising the issue on French soil, the Pope appeared to be addressing not only Catholics but also policymakers and technology companies operating across Europe, where regulators have moved faster than most to draft rules governing AI.
The Church's decision to stage such a large event in Paris reflects its assessment that spiritual interest is reviving among the French and other Europeans, despite decades of secularisation. Observers have pointed to signs of renewed engagement among younger Catholics and immigrant communities, even as the historic heartlands of European Christianity continue to empty.
That sense of momentum is likely to be tested again on Sunday, when around 150,000 people have registered to attend a Mass at the sanctuary of Lourdes in the Pyrenees. The site, famous for its springs and its association with the Marian apparitions reported in the nineteenth century, is one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the world and holds deep emotional significance for Catholics across the continent.
The itinerary then moves on Monday to Metz, in north-eastern France, where the Pope will honour Robert Schuman, a fervent Catholic and one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Schuman, who lived from 1886 to 1963, is currently a candidate for beatification, and a papal tribute to him would carry a clear political subtext at a time when the European project faces pressure from nationalist movements, including some of the parties whose candidates were present in Paris on Saturday.
There is also a personal dimension to the visit that has attracted considerable interest in France. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago in 1955 under the name Robert Prevost, a surname with unmistakably French roots. His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre, in Normandy, in 1894. When she later married in the United States, she and her Italian husband adopted the name Prevost, which had been her mother's maiden name.
That family history lends the tour a note of homecoming, however distant, and may help explain the warmth with which the Pope has been received. For a French public accustomed to debating the place of religion in national life, the sight of a pontiff with familial ties to Normandy drawing vast crowds down the Champs-Élysées offered an unusual convergence of faith, heritage, and spectacle.
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