Pope Leo XIV draws 800,000 to open-air Mass in Paris

Pope Leo XIV wrapped up a historic four-day visit to France, drawing a massive crowd of 800,000 to an open-air Mass on Paris's Place de la Concorde. Throughout the trip, the American pontiff navigated France's deeply secular culture, using his platform to condemn newly approved assisted-dying laws, meet privately with survivors of clerical sexual abuse in Lourdes, and deliver a major political address in Metz urging European leaders to seek negotiated concessions for peace in Ukraine.

The open-air Mass in Paris

• ▪The open-air Mass at Paris's Place de la Concorde on September 26, 2026, drew approximately 200,000 more attendees than the number who had registered in advance, according to Vatican estimates
• ▪The choice of the Place de la Concorde for Pope Leo XIV's Mass on September 26, 2026, was criticized by secularist groups who argued the site represents the secular French Republic and that other venues would have been more appropriate
• ▪High-profile attendees at Pope Leo XIV's Mass at Place de la Concorde in Paris on September 26, 2026, included Brigitte Macron, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault
• ▪Pope Leo XIV traveled in his popemobile along the Champs-Élysées to celebrate an open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on September 26, 2026, drawing an estimated 800,000 attendees

Addressing clerical abuse in Lourdes

• ▪Prior to Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lourdes, large yellow tarps were placed to cover controversial mosaics on the basilica's facade designed by Rev. Marko Rupnik, a priest accused of sexual and psychological abuse
• ▪During a Mass in Lourdes on September 27, 2026, attended by 150,000 people, Pope Leo XIV stated that the Catholic Church must have the courage to face its past and place itself under the Lord's purifying gaze to heal its deep wounds
• ▪Pope Leo XIV held a private, two-hour meeting with seven French survivors of clerical sexual abuse in Lourdes on September 27, 2026, where he listened to their testimonies and safeguarding proposals

Address to European leaders in Metz

• ▪Pope Leo XIV urged European leaders in Metz on September 28, 2026, to integrate arriving migrants as if they were family members and to establish legal and safe pathways for immigration
• ▪In his Metz speech on September 28, 2026, Pope Leo XIV criticized rising military spending and warned against the illusion that rearmament is the answer to securing world peace
• ▪Pope Leo XIV delivered a speech in Metz, France, on September 28, 2026, urging European nations to show courage in negotiation and a willingness to give up some positions for the greater good of peace

Assisted dying in France

• ▪France enacted a law allowing assisted dying under specified conditions for people with serious, incurable illnesses
• ▪During his visit to France, Pope Leo XIV condemned French legislation permitting medically assisted dying for the incurably ill, calling the law immoral 'false compassion' and stating that medicine must never serve programmed death

Papal visits to France

• ▪Pope Leo XIV began his French tour on September 25, 2026, with a visit and prayer at the restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was the first papal visit to the cathedral since its 2019 fire
• ▪Pope Leo XIV conducted a four-day, three-city apostolic visit to France from September 25 to September 28, 2026, marking the first official papal visit to the country in nearly two decades

Catholicism in France

• ▪Estimates show that only 5% to 8% of the French population attends Catholic church services weekly, reflecting a long-term decline in attendance
• ▪While French adult and adolescent baptisms rose to 21,386 at Easter in 2026, a broad survey by the national statistics agency INSEE showed that only 25% of French 18-to-49-year-olds identified as Catholic, down from 43% a decade earlier

Debatable claims

• ▪France's legalization of assisted dying is morally justified
• ▪Holding a papal Mass at the Place de la Concorde violates French secularism