Paris braces for huge crowds as Pope Leo XIV begins France visit

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Paris as Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day visit to France on Friday, with the centrepiece of his trip a huge open-air Mass that organisers say has attracted almost 600,000 registered participants.

An altar has been erected at the Place de la Concorde ahead of Saturday afternoon’s Mass, while police have imposed extensive security measures around the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe and surrounding areas.

The Paris diocese said registrations had reached nearly 600,000 before they were closed.

The Vatican itinerary places the Mass at 3 p.m. on Saturday, after which Leo will travel to Lourdes, where he is scheduled to pray at the Grotto of Massabielle.

He will celebrate another Mass there on Sunday before travelling to Metz in northeastern France on Monday for meetings focused on Europe, peace and unity.

The Pope’s programme also includes a visit to UNESCO headquarters in Paris, a meeting with French authorities and civil society at the Élysée Palace, prayers at the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral and an evening prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France.

President Emmanuel Macron will greet Leo at Orly airport on Friday and hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace.

Their discussions are expected to cover international affairs and artificial intelligence, while Leo will later address European themes in Metz.

Macron, however, will not attend any of the Pope’s Masses.

The Élysée has said he will instead be represented at Saturday’s celebration by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his wife, Brigitte Macron, reflecting France’s constitutional principle of separating religion from the state.

Several political figures expected to attend Saturday’s Mass include Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, Édouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau, according to French media.

Their attendance comes as France approaches its 2027 presidential election.

Leo’s visit also comes against the backdrop of the Catholic Church’s continuing response to the clergy sexual-abuse crisis in France.

A 2021 investigation estimated that about 330,000 children had been abused by Catholic clergy or members of religious orders in France over seven decades.

The Pope is due to meet survivors in Lourdes.

The trip is also notable because it is the first formal papal visit to France in nearly two decades.

Pope Benedict XVI visited Paris and Lourdes in September 2008, marking the 150th anniversary of the apparitions at Lourdes.

Pope Francis later visited French territory three times but did not make a full official visit to Paris.

He travelled to Strasbourg in 2014, Marseille in September 2023 for the Mediterranean Meetings, and Corsica in December 2024.