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Before arriving at the Place de la Concorde to open Mass, Pope Leo XIV marched in papamobile along the Champs Elysees. He took advantage of this privileged moment with the crowd to bless babies and young children.
The Pope's visit to Paris highlights issues of governance, celebration and equality between women and men in the Church. To talk about it, France 24 received Father François Euvé, Jesuit priest director of the magazine Etudes, and Constance Colonna Cesari, journalist specializing in the papacy.
Pope Leo XIV is to receive seven victims of sexual violence in the Church on Sunday in private. This unprecedented meeting in the official programme of an apostolic journey, however, arouses criticism: collectives of victims, removed from the appointment, denounce a format too small and demand an awareness of the systemic nature of abuses.
On his second day of visit to Paris, Pope Leo XIV is expected at the Catholic Institute. At the heart of this exchange: the rise of baptisms among adolescents and young adults, in a France marked by secularization. France 24 provided an update with Constance Colonna Cesari, a journalist specializing in the papacy.
Léon XIV greeted Friday the "splendour" of Notre-Dame de Paris, restored after the devastating fire of 2019, assuring that "the heart of a people" was beating in this place. He was the first pope to visit the cathedral since its reopening in late 2024.
After presiding over the Vespers on Friday 25 September at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Pope Leo XIV met the Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, before closing his first day of visit at the Stade de France tonight.
The first pope to visit Notre-Dame de Paris since its reopening at the end of 2024, Léon XIV greeted Friday 25 September the "splendeur" of the restored building after the devastating fire of 2019 and the "excellence" of French know-how. The faithful attended his homily fervently, the thousands of people present on the court were greatly concentrated at the ceremony. The details of Natalia Mendoza, journalist in France 24.
After official receptions at the Elysée and then at Unesco, Pope Leo XIV walked through the streets of Paris aboard his papamobile. "It's extraordinary" told the microphone of France 24 a man who came to attend at that time.
Pope Leo XIV arrived Friday, September 25 in the afternoon on the square of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, acclaimed by thousands of people, to celebrate Vespers for an audience of clergymen, deacons and seminarians. The explanations of Natalia Mendoza, correspondent for France 24.
The pontiff was greeted by the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich at the gates of the cathedral in the afternoon of Friday 25 September. Only one third of the participants were able to enter the cathedral with a limited capacity, the others following the office from the court. Once in the cathedral, the pope presided over vespers, traditionally celebrated in the late afternoon or early evening. The details of Florence Gaillard, journalist in France 24.
After his arrival at the Elysée in the late morning, Friday, September 25, Pope Leo XIV is about to make a speech at UNESCO before wandering about 2.5 kilometers towards Saint Michael's Square. The explanations of Johan Bodin, journalist in France 24.
UNESCO Director General Khaled El-Enany arrived on the afternoon of Friday, September 25, accompanied by Leo XIV, acclaimed, on the stage. The pope will make his speech following the director of UNESCO, and then take his first crowd bath for 2.5 km in papamobile in the center of Paris, where the public began to gather.
The pontiff spoke Friday, September 25, at UNESCO, in French and English, in support of the geopolitical situation: "Instead of respecting the law, those who hold power invoke it when it serves their interests and flouts it when it hinders them, even treating justice itself as if it were a commodity that can be bought and sold," the pontiff said.
Pope Leo XIV began on Friday 25 September in Paris a four-day apostolic visit to France, "land of rich Christian roots" where he immediately pleaded for peace in a speech at the Elysée alongside Emmanuel Macron, questioning the influence that the head of the Catholic Church can have on political decisions. The details of Constance Colonna Cesaria, journalist specializing in the papacy.
After his speech at UNESCO on Friday 25 September, Pope Leo XIV heads to Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in the famous 2.5-kilometre papamobile to meet the faithful who await him.
In the streets of Paris, the faithful and curious gathered in the afternoon of September 25, all over the course of the papamobile which Pope Leo XIV will draw towards Notre Dame Cathedral.
A few hours from the prayer vigil at the Stade de France, fervor is rising, impatience is there. Young Christians have already gathered in Bondy, a commune in Saint-Denis, to share their enthusiasm.
In the first words of his speech, the pontiff praised the country's historical influence: "For centuries, France has been shining as a cultural, artistic and spiritual beacon. With its cathedral schools, universities and academies, France has helped forge the intelligence of the population, far beyond its borders." Pope Leo XIV also warns against the risk of losing "our humanity in the midst of the "paradis of machines" that invade and condition our daily lives".
Following the interventions of Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis, on Friday, September 25, he left L'Élysée to join the apostolic nunciature in the 16th arrondissement, before going to UNESCO to deliver an address and to continue his Parisian journey, particularly to Notre-Dame.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in France, welcomed to the Elysée by President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, at the beginning of a four-day visit much awaited by the Catholic faithful, during which he wanted to "proclaim peace".
