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President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Pope Leo XIV to the Élysée Palace on Friday, 25 September, at the start of the pontiff's four-day visit to France. The Pope entered the courtyard to a ceremonial welcome, walked the red carpet, shook hands with President Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, before climbing the palace steps for a brief meeting at the Élysée.
Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Andrea Antonio Verardi, Professor of Church History and Cultural Heritage at the Pontifical Gregorian University. According to Verardi, Pope Leo’s visit to France is much more than a diplomatic visit. The focus of the visit combines three key issues: the search for peace amid geopolitical instability, the challenge that artificial intelligence and technological change pose to humanity and human dignity, and the unexpected re-emergence of religious identification among younger generations in a deeply secular society.
First papal state visit to country in 18 years comes as church confronts contentious issues.
Pope Leo XIV on Friday arrives in France for a four-day visit – his fifth Apostolic journey since becoming pontiff last year – during which he hopes to repair the Catholic Church’s standing after sexual abuse scandals while also addressing issues such as the need to regulate AI. FRANCE 24 guides you through his visit.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday welcomed Pope Leo XIV for the pontiff's first state visit to the European nation in 18 years, with artificial intelligence and young believers near the top of his agenda. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates and watch their address at the Élysée presidential palace in Paris.
The Vatican’s recent excommunication of followers of a Catholic splinter sect, the Society of Saint Pius X, has revived a longstanding feud within the Roman Catholic Church ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s state visit to France. The ultra-conservative group has established an extensive network of schools and has attracted thousands of followers in France.
Initially estimated at €12 million, the cost of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France has now risen to €27 million due to the immense excitement around his trip. But with France a firmly secular country, who is going to be footing the bill? Our journalist Sam Ball explains.
Pope Leo XIV is expected to draw huge crowds during his visit to France. As part of his trip, he's also set to address Europe's future and some of the challenges ahead.
France 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports from Paris as the French capital prepares for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV, where he is set to hold a huge open-air Mass.
Hundreds of thousands of the faithful and visitors are expected in Paris this weekend as Pope Leo XIV visits the French capital, marking the first papal visit to the country since 2008. France has pulled out all the stops to welcome the pontiff over the two-day visit in the capital and security forces are ensuring maximum protection with some 14,000 police officers, gendarmes, and soldiers mobilized across the capital.
France is gearing up for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV in what will be the first state visit to the country by a pontiff since 2008. Seema Gupta, France 24's correspondent in Rome takes a look at the visit from the Vatican's point of view.
As France prepares for Pope Leo XIV's visit, a surprising trend has emerged in recent years: the number of baptisms among teenagers and young adults has skyrocketed. More than 21,000 catechumens, those undergoing the period of preparation for baptism into the Christian Church, have been recorded so far in 2026. How can this renewed interest in the Catholic faith be explained? Florence Gaillard reports for France in Focus.
Pope Leo’s four-day visit to France, which kicks off on Friday, is something of a homecoming for the Chicago-born pontiff, a grandson of European immigrants with family roots in Normandy. His spiritual roots in French Catholicism run deeper still.
The town of Lourdes in southern France will be the second stop on Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the country, following his time in Paris. Around 150,000 people are expected to attend a mass led by the pontiff at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday. Local businesses are hoping the influx of visitors will also boost the economy, as pilgrims spend money on souvenirs, food and other goods. Our report by C. Neidhardt, C. Romain, E. Auriaux and C. Bénétreau.
Preparations are underway in France for Pope Leo’s visit from September 25 to 28. During his trip, the Pontiff is expected to meet victims of church sexual abuse, as the Catholic Church faces renewed scrutiny following recent scandals. Delano D'Souza reports.
Four days ahead of Pope Leo’s visit to France, preparations have been underway for months. From Friday, the Pope will travel to Paris, Lourdes and Metz, with several sensitive issues hanging over the trip, including clerical sexual abuse and France’s assisted-dying law. For now, security remains the top priority. Camille Corcoran reports.
PRESS REVIEW – Monday, September 21: The Independent's climate 100 list for 2026 is out, featuring names like Pope Leo and Sir David Attenborough. Climate change is having an undeniable effect on animals across the world, some of which are seeking human help. And finally: are people's dating patterns shifting?
Pope Leo XIV on Friday begins a four-day visit to France, where the Catholic Church's views on abortion and euthanasia run counter to the values of a secular country that recently enshrined abortion in its constitution and gave final approval to a bill establishing the right to assisted dying.
Pontiff, who has caught the eye in trainers and a baseball cap, praised for taking dress to ‘heavenly heights’ For the first time in a decade, Vanity Fair has released a best-dressed list. Featuring 70 names, the list ranks the most fashionable people in the world in 2026. The lineup includes the usual suspects spanning Hollywood actors and global pop stars but nestled among the Hollywood stars is an unexpected entrant. Pope Leo XIV. The 70-year-old head of the Catholic church has been praised by the magazine for taking papal style “to heavenly heights”. His most memorable look? A simple white
