Pope Leo XIV in Paris: the apostolic visit to France begins

Eighteen years after the last time, a Pope returns to Paris. Leo

The setting will be places of great charm, from the majesty of Notre-Dame, Place de la Concorde and the Elysée in Paris, to the spiritual atmosphere of Lourdes and the strategic position of Metz. The last Pope to set foot in the French capital was Benedict XVI in 2008, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions in the Massabielle Grotto: before him John Paul II had been to France 7 times (8 counting the stop in 1989 in La Réunion, a French overseas department). Pope Francis, however, went to France three times, visiting Strasbourg, Marseille and Corsica but never the capital.

The morning program

From the first day, as clarified by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, the Pope will meet "the French nation, its people, its history and its culture with ancient, profoundly Christian roots that have found expression in society". It will be an opportunity to experience first-hand the "faith" of this country "with its history of passion for the most fragile and poorest children" and the "history of ties" with the world, in particular the Christian Middle East.

After the flight, scheduled to depart at 7.50 am from Fiumicino and arrive at Paris Orly airport around 10 am, the Pope will be received at the Elysée by the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and will subsequently meet authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps there. This is not the first time a Pope has visited the residence of a French head of state: already in 1980 Pope John Paul II was welcomed by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Subsequently, in 1997, John Paul II was also received by President Jacques Chirac on the occasion of World Youth Day.

On the occasion of his last apostolic trip to France, in 2008, Benedict XVI visited the presidential palace and instead met the then president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The afternoon program

In the early afternoon the Holy Father will go to the UNESCO headquarters, where he will hold a speech exceptionally in English (apart from this one and the one in Metz, they will all be in French): as stated by the director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni, this will be one of the occasions in which there will be no shortage of references "to situations of conflict" as well as to the "solidarity" of which the nation has demonstrated over the centuries.

Afterwards, the Pope will be at Notre-Dame, where the celebration of vespers is scheduled with the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women and seminarians. Previous Pontiffs who have passed through Paris, such as John Paul II and Benedict

In the evening, however, a prayer vigil is planned for young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis: around 80 thousand participants aged between 17 and 35 are expected in the stands. This will also be an absolute first for a Pope, who has never entered the facility where the Transalpine national football and 15-a-side rugby teams play.