PARIS (OSV News) — As French bishops fight against time to organize Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the country, they stress the apostolic trip will be a “very significant moment” for Catholics in France and beyond.
On Sept. 8, the president of the French bishops’ conference provided details regarding the Sept. 25-28 papal visit to France.
“His visit is being organized on an extremely tight schedule, but we were pressed for time due to the upcoming presidential elections in 2027,” Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline explained at the headquarters of the bishops’ conference in Paris.
The motto of the pope’s visit, “That the world may have life,” will be visible in papal appeals to respect the dignity of every person’s life that, organizers say, will be at the heart of Pope Leo’s message.
“His visit will be a very significant moment for Catholics in France, but not only for them,” Cardinal Aveline said. “The pope’s words will reach beyond Catholics alone, and beyond our country alone,” he stressed,
Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron
Upon his arrival on Sept. 25, the pope will go to the Élysée Palace to meet with President Emmanuel Macron. In the early afternoon, he will visit the UNESCO headquarters, near the Eiffel Tower, and speak about the protection of young people in the age of new technologies and artificial intelligence.
The pope will then travel through downtown Paris in the popemobile to Place Saint-Michel, across from the Île de la Cité, where Notre Dame Cathedral is located. “The bells of all the churches will ring to welcome him,” said Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris. “He will stop to bless people.” At Notre Dame, the pope will celebrate vespers with 2,000 bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and consecrated persons.
In the evening, the pope will travel to the iconic venue for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games — Stade de France in Saint-Denis — where he will take part in a prayer vigil bringing together more than 80,000 young people. Registration for the event filled up within minutes on Aug. 10, as soon as it opened.
On Sept. 26, the pope will visit Maison Bakhita, a social center of the Archdiocese of Paris dedicated to refugees and located in the Montmartre neighborhood. He will then go to the Catholic Institute of Paris, the archdiocese’s major university. There, he will meet with catechumens and neophytes as part of the Synodal Assembly of Île-de-France, which is taking place in the archdiocese to better welcome the influx of young people and adults who ask for baptism. The name of the body was changed from “council” at the request of the Holy See so that not only clergy could participate.
That Saturday afternoon, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass for nearly 500,000 people at the Place de la Concorde and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
Pope to fly to south of France to pray at Lourdes
The pope will then fly to the south of France and, that same evening, go to pray in Lourdes at the grotto of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. “He will come first and foremost as a pilgrim,” Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes said. “He will go to the grotto, touch the rock, light a candle and pray in silence, just as all pilgrims do.”
On Sept. 27, the pope will celebrate Sunday morning Mass on the sanctuary’s lawn. In the evening, he will preside over the Marian torchlight procession, praying the rosary. “The entire town and the region’s public services are mobilized in joyful anticipation of his arrival,” Bishop Micas said. “The priority will be welcoming the sick and the most vulnerable.”
Among the scheduled meetings, the pope will speak personally with seven victims of sexual abuse within the Church. The bishops also confirmed the meeting with survivors will take place in Lourdes.
On Monday, Sept. 28, the pope will fly to the city of Metz, northeastern France. “Metz has endured three wars and two annexations by Germany,” Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz recalled during the press conference. “But it has since also experienced the power of Franco-German reconciliation.”
Created foundation of European integration
Robert Schuman, a hero of European unity, who was declared venerable by Pope Francis in June 2021, will be honored during this leg of the trip. Born German, he became a French politician. In 1950, while serving as minister of foreign affairs, he proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the foundation of European integration.
“His idea was that what had once led France and Germany to kill one another would now enable them to develop together,” Archbishop Ballot emphasized. “He was able to translate his deep desire for peace into his political work.”
In Metz, the pope will travel by popemobile to Saint-Étienne Cathedral, called the “Lantern of God” because of its 70,000 square feet of stained-glass windows, the largest in Europe. He will celebrate Mass for 12,000 people, spread out between the cathedral and its surroundings.
“All hotel rooms have been booked” the archbishop of Metz said. “Thousands of people are expected from Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.” Archbishop Ballot said that “in Metz, we feel we are at the heart of Europe,” and he expressed his happiness that’s where the trip to France will conclude.
Enthusiasm for pope ‘across all social layers’
For Cardinal Aveline, “there is a widespread enthusiasm that the pope’s visit to France has generated across all social layers.”
“It reflects a very great spiritual thirst in our country,” he said. “The pope is coming to visit us to nourish our hope,” added Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Pontoise, chairman of the organizing committee. “Everyone needs hope. Even some Algerian Muslims told me they will go and meet him on the Champs-Élysées.”
“The pope is very happy to come to France, and he is working on his French,” Cardinal Aveline concluded.
“France intrigues him. He will speak about the great history of the French saints, who carried out their work in a wide variety of fields, beginning with charity and social service. He will invite us to revisit this history, so that we may carry it forward creatively in today’s context.”
Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.
