Pope Leo XIV's historic visit to France brings together huge crowd

Certainly, the days of September 2026 will remain memorable moments. For a long time, the Champs-Élysées have been conducive to the surges which accompany historical events (August 1944, May 1968), military (July 14) or sporting events (1998). On Saturday, to the popular joy were added fervor and piety: a crowd of 800,000 people who arrived five or six hours before the event attended the mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on the magnificent Place de la Concorde.

For his first visit to French soil, she welcomed him with many tricolor or yellow and white flags, in a benevolent jubilation which delighted the sovereign pontiff.

The Leo XIV effect is immense and goes far beyond the framework of the Catholic Church. She awaited his arrival, comforting in these times of moral and spiritual crisis. But the entire French society today salutes an authority figure who gives meaning to life, that is to say, direction.

What crucial interventions! The day before the Mass at La Concorde, the Pope addressed the political and diplomatic authorities at the Élysée; he spoke to the clergy at Notre-Dame de Paris. Friday evening, he spoke with young people in a melting Stade de France. And again on Sunday, in Lourdes, he turned to the sick and victims of sexual abuse to express to them the compassion of the Church.