Pope Leo XIV to celebrate giant Paris mass after 'peace' appeal

Paris, September 26 - Pope Leo XIV was set to lead a massive open-air mass for hundreds of thousands of believers on the Champs Elysees in France, after issuing a statement about the possibility of "living together in dignity and peace." The 71-year-old leader was on a four-day trip to the secular nation, which holds significant Catholic roots, and his visit fueled enthusiasm and spiritual fervor among the faithful.

Crowds gathered in central Paris, with parents bringing strollers and children on their shoulders, eager to catch a glimpse of the pontiff on day two of the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades.

The mass, beginning at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), was planned to take place at Place de la Concorde and along the adjacent Champs-Elysees. Dozens of coaches dropped off worshippers from across France, many holding stools or folding chairs as they waited for several hours. Sylvie Leclerc, a 51-year-old teacher, expressed her excitement, stating that she had come to share the Christian fervor and to proclaim love, peace, and joy.

Participants included teenagers like Alix, who was thrilled to see the pope and considered it a privilege to witness his representation of God on Earth. The first US pontiff's visit to France came seven months before voters chose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, with the anti-immigration far right seeing it as their best chance to capture the presidency. Macron would not attend the mass, but presidential hopefuls, including far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Edouard Philippe, confirmed their attendance.

Earlier in the day, Pope Leo met with migrants at Maison Bakhita, an association supporting refugees. He emphasized the "fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love." On Friday, around 300,000 people gathered to see the pontiff waving from his popemobile on the way to Notre Dame Cathedral. Pope Leo had previously stressed the need for ethics to avoid an AI-driven "paradise of machines" and called on France to remain a tireless champion of peace amidst ongoing war in Ukraine.

With only about five percent of France's 69 million residents regularly attending Catholic services, the mass in Paris marked a significant event despite the declining number of regular church-goers. However, teenage baptisms had increased in recent years. After the mass in Paris, Pope Leo would head to Lourdes, a town known for Catholic tradition surrounding the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a peasant girl in 1858. During his last stop in Metz on Monday, Leo was expected to deliver a speech about peace in Europe.