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Pope Leo XIV Begins Four-Day Trip to France

7:09 AM ETConfirmed

Faith Desk

In Short: Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Metz, near France’s borders with Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany, is intended to give the trip a European and international dimension. The visit is expected to cost the Catholic Church 27 million euros ($31 million).

Pope Leo XIV began his four-day visit to France, welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron and given military honors, albeit scaled back at the pope’s request. The visit, which marks the first official papal state visit to France in 18 years, is expected to attract more than 1 million people.

The pope’s itinerary includes high-profile political speeches and massive outdoor liturgies in Paris, Lourdes, and Metz. Despite the Catholic Church in France experiencing an unprecedented increase in conversions since the pandemic, Pope Leo XIV’s agenda focuses on welcoming newcomers, meeting with abuse survivors, the sick, and migrants, emphasizing the church’s responsibility to the most vulnerable.

On the eve of the visit, five women who accused Father Marko Rupnik of abuse published an open letter to Pope Leo, expressing appreciation for the removal of Rupnik’s mosaics from the Vatican News website but concern over the lack of updates on his trial. Bishop Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the Bishops’ Conference of France, noted that the trip is important for the country hosting him but also has broader significance for the world.

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lourdes, where he will preside over solemn vespers, is particularly significant given the historical context. Pope Benedict XVI made the longest visit to Lourdes by a reigning pope in 2008, spending four days there for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions.

The pope’s connection to the Basilica-Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, dates back to the beginning of his papacy. Today, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Pope Leo XIV is making a significant Marian appearance by returning to the historic Marian shrine.

The chapel of the apostolic nunciature in Paris, where Pope Leo will be staying during his visit, has been closed since the start of Father Rupnik’s canonical trial. The quiet removal of Rupnik’s artwork from Vatican News, which was used to mark major feast days online, was noted in June 2025, nearly a month after Pope Leo’s election.

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Metz, near France’s borders with Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany, is intended to give the trip a European and international dimension. The visit is expected to cost the Catholic Church 27 million euros ($31 million).

Pope Leo XIV will travel by popemobile along a 1.6-mile route through central Paris as church bells ring across the city. He will later celebrate vespers at Notre Dame Cathedral and end the day with a prayer vigil with young people at France’s national stadium.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• The bishop said that Pope Leo had backed the decision.

What's still developing

• The Catholic Church in France has seen a surprising jump in adult baptisms since 2022, rising from its usual figure of around 4,000 converts joining the church per year to almost 5,500 in 2023.
• It would be easy for the pope to treat this visit as a victory lap for the French church, yet it appears from his agenda for the visit that Leo will not take that approach.
• Here are 12 things to know about his trip and France’s rich Catholic history: Pope Francis made three visits to French cities including Strasbourg, Marseille, and Ajaccio in Corsica but never visited Paris or Lourdes.
• 25, Pope Leo will open his apostolic journey to France by presiding over solemn vespers alongside clergy, consecrated religious, and seminarians inside Notre-Dame de Paris.
• Today’s liturgical celebrations reach their climax at 6:00 PM, when the Pope presides over the Holy Eucharist at the sanctuary, which has been cared for for centuries by the Order of Saint Augustine.
• Also, on the occasion of this special pastoral visit on September 7, the temple has planned to unveil a commemorative painting that immortalizes the image of the Pope praying before the Marian devotion, thus sealing the memory of a pontificate that repeatedly turns its gaze towards the protection of the Mother of Good Counsel.
• Through news, analytical articles, and live broadcasts of the Pope's events, Exaudi seeks to strengthen Christian unity and contribute to the evangelization of the world, always guided by the Church's social doctrine.
• Pope Leo, he said, “immediately asked me how Lourdes was handling this issue” and expressed his support for “the way we have approached things,” following Lourdes’ covering of the priest’s mosaics at the entrance of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.
• The pope “pointed out to me that, for his part, he had instructed the Holy See’s communications office to no longer use Rupnik’s mosaics to illustrate publications. He is truly very determined on this issue,” Bishop Micas told Paris Match.

Sources

• America Magazinelink
• Ewtnnewslink
• Exaudilink
• OSV Newslink
• Cruxnowlink
• Warpbeatlink
• Ncregisterlink
• Aleteialink
• Thecatholicheraldlink
• Ewtnnewslink
• Newsweeklink
• Cathstanlink
• Detroitcatholiclink
• Religionnewslink
• WarpBeat — background on Pope Leo XIV to travel 19,000 miles on 14 flights during trip to Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay link
• WarpBeat — background on Pope Leo XIV to Travel 19,000 Miles on 14 Flights During Latin America Trip link
• Shalom World News — video link