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Pope Leo XIV Urges Europe to Rediscover Christian Roots
· Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged Europe to return to its roots, including its Christian heritage, while also engaging with the people from other cultures now living within it, during a visit to Metz, France.
Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged Europe to return to its roots, including its Christian heritage, while also engaging with the people from other cultures now living within it, during a visit to Metz, France.
The event, titled “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity,” highlighted the significance of Europe’s founding values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.
Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation, drawing on the example of Robert Schuman, who helped lay the foundations of a united Europe after World War II.
"The universal character of Europe’s founding values assures us that this dialogue is possible and that it can provide a solid foundation for our societies, enabling us to work more effectively for peace and a reconciled world," Pope Leo XIV said.
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the need for Europe to confront modern challenges while preserving its cultural and religious heritage, urging Europeans to embrace their shared history and traditions.
"We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures, which calls us to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others," he added.
Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France came at a time when Christians in the Holy Land have faced continued attacks from Jewish extremists, and Christian leaders in Syria and Iran fear an existential threat due to the decline in Christian populations.
"If the fruitfulness of religious traditions is seen above all in their service of peace and fraternity, it is also expressed in their ability to protect, accompany, and serve life," Pope Leo XIV said.
Pope Leo XIV also encouraged young people to embrace Christianity, noting that many young French people are being drawn to the faith due to the uncertainty they feel around the state of the world.
"Bear witness to those around you to the journey you are making, and inspire them to ask themselves questions as well," Pope Leo XIV said to those seeking to join the church and new Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonated with the crowds, with over 700,000 people gathering on the Champs-Élysées boulevard in Paris to see him.
"He is a pope who is young, 71, and he moves the young people forward; he is calm, a good-listener and he has very precise ideas and is able to express them clearly and in an engaging way — all the young people and the crowds here show that," said Alexandre Lehir, 20, a young French attendee.
Background
Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to rediscover its Christian roots and engage in open dialogue with others to foster peace and unity during a visit to France on September 28, 2026.
What's confirmed
- Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged Europe to return to its roots, including its Christian heritage, while also engaging with the people from other cultures now living within it, during a visit to Metz, France.
- The event, titled “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity,” highlighted the significance of Europe’s founding values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.
- Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation, drawing on the example of Robert Schuman, who helped lay the foundations of a united Europe after World War II.
- "The universal character of Europe’s founding values assures us that this dialogue is possible and that it can provide a solid foundation for our societies, enabling us to work more effectively for peace and a reconciled world," Pope Leo XIV said.
- Pope Leo XIV also addressed the need for Europe to confront modern challenges while preserving its cultural and religious heritage, urging Europeans to embrace their shared history and traditions.
- "We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures, which calls us to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others," he added.
- Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France came at a time when Christians in the Holy Land have faced continued attacks from Jewish extremists, and Christian leaders in Syria and Iran fear an existential threat due to the decline in Christian populations.
- "If the fruitfulness of religious traditions is seen above all in their service of peace and fraternity, it is also expressed in their ability to protect, accompany, and serve life," Pope Leo XIV said.
- Pope Leo XIV also encouraged young people to embrace Christianity, noting that many young French people are being drawn to the faith due to the uncertainty they feel around the state of the world.
- "Bear witness to those around you to the journey you are making, and inspire them to ask themselves questions as well," Pope Leo XIV said to those seeking to join the church and new Catholics.
- Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonated with the crowds, with over 700,000 people gathering on the Champs-Élysées boulevard in Paris to see him.
- "He is a pope who is young, 71, and he moves the young people forward; he is calm, a good-listener and he has very precise ideas and is able to express them clearly and in an engaging way — all the young people and the crowds here show that," said Alexandre Lehir, 20, a young French attendee.
What's still developing
- He was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis in 2021 in recognition of his heroic virtues.
- The title of the event was “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.” Metz is a city just 27 miles from the Schengen tripoint, where the borders of Luxembourg, France, and Germany meet — an area rich in significance for European history.
- “Robert Schuman, who lived through a time of constantly shifting borders, helped to lay the foundations of a Europe that was aware of the urgent need to tear down the walls that were dividing it,” Leo said.
- “Only state-registered denominations are allowed websites. All online activity must demonstrate ‘support for the leadership of the Communist Party of China.'” The report described how Church leaders in Syria fear an existential threat because of the fall in the Christian population by more than 80% since 2011, and says in Iran the arrests of Christians have doubled.
- Not a single country showed improvements for persecuted Christians, with the report revealing that in 10 countries persecution worsened while eight remained the same.
- Speaking at a meeting on “The Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity,” the Holy Father said Europe should be understood not merely by geography, but through the history, culture, and traditions that have shaped its civilization.
- Join us in encouraging millions to begin again and seek Christ.
- Europe’s postwar experience, the Holy Father noted, has shown that countries with different interests can resolve disagreements through dialogue rather than conflict.
- As De Gasperi noted, pursuing an ideal means placing the human person at the center, “with his spirit of evangelical brotherhood, with his reverence for the law inherited from antiquity, with his appreciation for beauty refined over the centuries and with his commitment to truth and justice, sharpened by millennia of experience. ” [5] This is the framework within which politics can still be practiced today, and to which political activity must be brought back.
- However, it is equally imbued with an ideal vision, namely the desire to foster a cooperation that would overcome centuries of division and enable the peoples of the continent to rediscover the human, cultural and religious heritage they share.
- Below is the English translation of the Pope’s address: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Peace be with you, I warmly welcome all of you to this gathering.
- In this sense, politics is the “highest form of charity” [4] because it can be completely committed to the building up of the common good.