Pope Leo XIV arrives in France for first papal visit in 18 years

Pope Leo XIV arrived for a four-day visit to France on Friday, the first official papal visit to the strictly secular country in 18 years.

Leo, the spiritual leader of the some 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, was greeted at Paris' Orly Airport by French President Emmanuel Macron and will be in the country until Monday.

The papal itinerary has Leo meeting Macron at the Elysee Palace, speaking at UNESCO headquarters, leading Vespers at Notre Dame Cathedral and celebrating Mass for an estimated 80,000 young people at the Stade de France national stadium on Friday.

On Saturday, he is scheduled to celebrate Mass for another 600,000 at Place de la Concorde on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees before departing for Lourdes, a famous Catholic pilgrimage site located near France's Spanish border.

On Sunday, Leo will travel to Metz, near the German border, where he will deliver a speech entitled: "To the roots of Europe for peace and unity." Macron will introduce Leo at the event and has invited fellow leaders across the EU to join him in attendance.

Pope speaks of press freedom on flight to France

While traveling to France, US-born Leo was asked by a CNN reporter for his thoughts on US President Donald Trump's attempts to ban news outlets from covering him.

"I am very happy that here, you are all welcome," he told reporters.

Leo, who was forced to fly home alone after plane trouble on a recent trip to Spain, took the opportunity to apologize to his press pool.

Speaking to reporters at the back of his plane on Friday, Leo said, "I want to apologize personally for an incident, that I had nothing to do with, but which I know left a number of you unhappy with the fact that we couldn't have the flight back together back to Rome."

AI, abuse, peace all on the agenda

Leo is expected to address global concerns regarding so-called artificial intelligence (AI) and the "new dangers" it presents to "security and international peace" during discussions with Macron.

Speaking at the Vatican on Thursday, Leo said leaders must "govern wisely" when dealing with the new technology, which he says raises questions about the very essence of what it means to be human.

The pope is also seeking to repair the Catholic Church's standing in France, where opinions grew particularly bleak in 2021 following the publication of a report documenting seven decades of abuse — impacting 330,000 French children — by clergy and lay leaders.

Leo will meet victims of church abuse during the trip.

Upon arriving in France, Pope Leo, who has been a tireless critic of the wars in Ukraine, Iran and elsewhere, said he sought to be "a pilgrim for peace" in a time of war.