Pope celebrates giant Paris mass in landmark visit
Pope Leo on Saturday celebrated an open-air mass in front of hundreds of thousands of faithful in Paris after riding in the Popemobile along the iconic Champs Elysees to the cheers of huge crowds clutching French and Vatican flags. The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholic roots, on the first official papal visit to…
Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air mass in Paris on Saturday, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the city's iconic Champs-Élysées avenue. According to CBS News, the Vatican estimated that 700,000 people attended, exceeding the 600,000 who had registered in advance. The event was a sign of the Catholic Church's enduring appeal in France, a country that is officially secular.
The Pope rode in the popemobile along the Champs-Élysées, cheered by huge crowds clutching French and Vatican flags. He also blessed several babies during the event. The mass was part of a four-day visit to France, during which Leo has sought to encourage French Catholics to persevere in their faith.
The event had a party-like atmosphere, with people of multiple faiths and no faith at all in attendance. According to MyJoyOnline Ghana, a special altar was built on the Place de la Concorde for the ceremony, and chants of "Leo, Leo" rang out during the event.
Brief written by urgent.news from National Post, France 24, CBS News, CBC News, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Pope celebrates giant Paris mass in landmark visit nationalpost.com
