Pope Leo XIV Begins Four-Day Visit to France

Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day visit to France on Friday, with a significant Mass expected to draw over 600,000 attendees in central Paris. The Mass will take place on Saturday at the Place de la Concorde, with police sealing off a large area around the Champs-Élysées. President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly airport on Friday morning and will engage in discussions with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence. Macron will not attend any of the Pope's Masses due to France's separation of church and state, but his wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will be present. Several candidates for the upcoming presidential election are also expected to attend. Reports of tensions between Macron and the Vatican regarding the ceremonial aspects of the visit have been dismissed by Élysée officials, who stated that it is customary to offer high-profile events to visiting heads of state. Pope Leo declined a proposed meeting with artisans who helped rebuild Notre-Dame cathedral due to a tight schedule. After a Popemobile ride through crowds to Notre-Dame on Friday afternoon, the Pope will meet with 80,000 young people at the Stade de France. On Sunday, 150,000 people have signed up for Mass in Lourdes. The Pope will also pay tribute to Robert Schuman in Metz and meet with migrants and victims of sexual abuse by clergy. Born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV has a familial connection to France. Historically, France has had a complex relationship with the Catholic Church, with a significant decline in Catholic identification and regular worshippers in recent decades. However, there are signs of renewed interest in religious traditions, as indicated by a doubling of adult baptisms in recent years. Cardinal François Bustillo noted that while France has secularized, there is a search for values and meaning among the population.