The Pope began this Saturday, the second day in Paris of his trip to France, with a visit to a migrant help center in the 18th district of the city, one of those with the largest presence of foreigners. The central event of the day will be at three in the afternoon, a mass in the Place de la Concorde which is expected to be attended by 600,000 people. Then you will fly to Lourdes, the next stage of this four-day trip.
The visit to the Maison Bakhita, opened in 2021 to help integrate migrants, has been a significant gesture in the midst of the rise of the National Regroupment (RN), Marine Le Pen's far-right party, but, nevertheless, Leo XIV has not had words as direct and forceful as those he used in Spain in June with the same issue and on several occasions.
Once again, as happened the day before, there has been the impression that this time the Pope does not want to interfere too much in the turbulent political debate in France, ahead of the presidential elections of 2027. It also indicates that he is moving with caution in a country where secularism is a republican pillar and religion is considered a matter of the private sphere, which should be outside the public sphere. In fact, this was one of the issues he addressed on Friday as soon as he landed in France.
This morning, in the speech at the Bakhita house, you had to read between the lines and pay attention to specific phrases. For example, the Pope has never uttered the word “immigration” or “immigrant,” not even “foreigner.” In a small room at the center, before the professionals, volunteers and people who frequent it, the Pontiff invited them to “see those who are made invisible, to free those whom the economy and culture today reduce to slavery, to honor the infinite dignity of each brother and sister.” “The history of the Church and of humanity, if we look at it more closely, is not written by those who give the impression of winning by imposing themselves and occupying space, but by those who make space, establish peace processes, generate trust and promote life,” he warned.
Leo XIV spoke these words in a brief speech at the center dedicated to Josephine Bakhita, the name of a Sudanese saint and symbol of the fight against slavery, because she herself was a slave. She died in 1947 and was canonized in 2000 by John Paul II. This place serves about 150 people a day, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa and of Muslim religion, to help them make their way. French classes and training courses are offered, such as tailoring or carpentry. Since it opened in 2021, it has assisted 2,500 people.
The center represents the work, often silent and little seen in the media, of the Catholic Church with the weakest, like 45 other charity associations in the diocese of Paris. With his visit of just one hour, the Pontiff made the French television networks connect live, and more than him, they listened to the testimony of some of those foreigners to whom the center has provided support. Like Meysam, 35 years old, who arrived from Afghanistan in 2015. He said that in his country he was a tailor and came to Maison Bakhita for the French courses. "In life you should never give up. Every time I have been about to throw in the towel, I have always found someone who has extended a hand to me and allowed me to move forward despite everything. (...) A few months ago I was granted refugee status. I have found a job. Now I have confidence in life and my future," he said.
Another emotional testimony was that of a foreign woman named Blessing, 31 years old, who was not focused on by the cameras out of respect for her privacy. She has said that when she arrived in France she was forced “to do things she didn't want to do” and that it still hurts her to remember it. Until he came into contact with one of the Catholic associations that help migrants and that collaborate with the center: now he has papers and works in a restaurant. One of these associations is Aux Captifs, la Libération (To the captives, liberation), which looks for people who live on the streets or work in prostitution to give them a way out. The other is A Bras Ouverts (With Open Arms), which organizes weekend activities for people with disabilities.
