PARIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV will put Europe and peace in the spotlight on Sept. 28, when he visits Metz as part of his trip to France from Sept. 25 to 28.
Metz is located in northeastern France, close to the German border. It is the capital of Moselle, the French department in the Lorraine region that, along with Alsace, was annexed by the German Empire between 1871 and 1918. This subsequently led to conflicts between France and Germany during the two World Wars.
The city of Metz is closely associated with Robert Schuman. A French statesman — though German by birth and thoroughly bicultural — he worked as a lawyer in Metz when the city belonged to Germany, and remained there after it returned to French control. He then entered politics in the service of France. He served several times as a minister and as head of government.
Schuman was a devout Catholic, so much so that his sainthood cause is currently underway,
Father Bernard Ardura, a French historian, former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, is the postulator of his cause. The diocesan process was concluded in 2004, and Pope Francis declared Schuman venerable on June 19, 2021.
‘Model of a Christian engaged in politics’
For Father Ardura, Schuman is “a model of a Christian engaged in politics.” “He was a statesman passionate about the common good,” he told OSV News. “The whole meaning of his life can be summed up in that. His view was that commitment to public service was a royal path to charity. He devoted himself entirely to the common good.”
Schuman worked his entire life toward Franco-German reconciliation and the founding of a united Europe.
For Father Ardura, Schuman was also “a hard worker, respectful of others and generous, deeply humble and modest.” “His political action was rooted in prayer,” he said. “He attended Mass every day and prayed the rosary and the liturgy of the hours.”
Schuman spent his last years three miles from Metz, in the small town of Scy-Chazelles, where he was buried in 1963. “His house is open to visitors,” Father Ardura said. “It is very modest, and very close to the church he attended every day. He really lived like a monk. He remained single his entire life. He used to say he was ‘married to politics.'”
He was minister of foreign affairs when he delivered the declaration known throughout Europe as the Schuman Declaration on May 9, 1950. In it, he proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. His goal was to foster economic growth while establishing lasting peace between France and Germany.
‘Building ties rather than resorting to arms’
“At that time, coal and steel fueled the industry that produced weapons,” Father Ardura underlined. “Building ties rather than resorting to arms — that is what Schuman wanted.” In 1958, Schuman became the first president of the new European Parliament, then known as the “Parliamentary Assembly.”
On Sept. 28, Pope Leo will speak in Metz about Europe and peace.
“He views Europe in a much more positive light than Pope Francis did before him,” Father Ardura emphasized. “Pope Francis viewed Europe with a rather pessimistic outlook and often highlighted its negative aspects.”
Father Ardura referred to remarks made by Pope Francis on Nov. 25, 2014, during his brief visit to Strasbourg, France — where the parliament and the Council of Europe are headquartered.
Pope Francis described Europe as “‘grandmother,’ no longer fertile and vibrant,” in his speech — “and he often reused that expression afterward,” Father Ardura said.
Pope Leo’s vision of Europe different than Pope Francis’ view
For the postulator, Pope Leo XIV’s vision is quite different. “He traveled extensively outside his country,” he noted. “He lived in Rome and knows Europe well. He sees that it is bogged down by a cumbersome and pervasive bureaucracy in many areas that are not always essential and over which it does not always have jurisdiction. He sees that it struggles to carry weight on the international stage,” he added.
“But Pope Leo XIV also perceives that Europe actually represents a significant entity whose history is rooted in an intuition regarding the concrete possibility of building peace,” Father Ardura continued. “He would like to encourage Europe to find new momentum in this direction.”
For Father Ardura, “this is where the reference to Schuman is interesting.”
“The Europe that Schuman knew has changed a great deal since then,” he said. “Since 1950, the communist regime has collapsed almost everywhere.”
But Schuman’s vision, he said, remains relevant today.
Solid entity ‘based on shared economic interests’
“He saw Europe as a solidly constructed entity based on shared economic interests, one that ensured member countries would work together rather than wage war against one another. And at the same time, he wanted it to be open to others and to further collaboration.”
Today, every month, a Mass for Europe is celebrated in Scy-Chazelle in memory of Schuman.
For Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz, the Mass that the pope will celebrate at Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Metz on Sept. 28 will be an opportunity to reflect on Schuman’s “message of peace.”
“Thanks to architects of reconciliation such as the Venerable Robert Schuman, the Moselle region offers a precious testimony showing that hatred does not have the last word, but that, on the contrary, yesterday’s enemies can become brothers,” he wrote on Aug. 20 in his official announcement of the pope’s visit.
“This message of peace echoes the Holy Father’s call for ‘a disarmed and disarming peace’ at the heart of our divided world.”
For Archbishop Ballot, Schuman is a “figure of reconciliation,” who “can, even today, inspire in everyone’s heart — especially among young people — the desire to see brotherhood grow in Europe and beyond.”
Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.
