Pope’s Paris Mass draws Vatican estimate of more than 800,000
Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde before travelling to Lourdes, as his four-day visit brought faith, migration and Church accountability into focus.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde on Saturday during a four-day visit to France. The Vatican estimated that more than 800,000 people gathered across central Paris; the figure has not been independently verified.
The Mass marked the visit’s second day. Earlier, Leo met migrants at Maison Bakhita, an association supporting refugees, and said people could live together “in dignity and peace”.
After the service, the pope flew to Lourdes and prayed at the Grotto of Massabielle. He asked for French leaders who would serve the common good and promote human rights and peace, then followed customary pilgrim rituals at the grotto.
The visit, described as the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades, comes ahead of the country’s 2027 presidential election. Several prospective candidates attended the Mass; President Emmanuel Macron was represented by his wife.
Leo is scheduled to meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse on Sunday. A 2021 inquiry estimated that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France over seven decades.
