Pope heads to France on first state visit in 18 years
Church bells across France will ring for seven minutes when the first US pontiff, whose paternal grandmother was born in France, arrives outside Paris for a four-day visit.
Vatican's Pope Leo XIV embarked on a historic trip to France on Friday, marking the first state visit to the European nation in 18 years. The 71-year-old pontiff, whose paternal grandmother was born in France, is set to address pressing issues during his four-day visit, including artificial intelligence, migration, clerical sexual abuse, and peace in Europe.
President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, will greet the Pope at the tarmac as he arrives outside Paris at 10:00 am (0800 GMT). The Pope's itinerary includes a speech at the Unesco headquarters, a popemobile ride to Notre Dame cathedral, and a mass with 80,000 young believers in Saint-Denis. The Pope's visit also includes a private meeting with seven clerical sex abuse victims in Lourdes, a town renowned for its Catholic pilgrimage site.
His final leg of the trip will see him address peace in Europe during a speech in Metz, a city near the German border, as the world grapples with the ongoing fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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