Apostolic visit: the preparations and the enthusiasm of the French faithful

“We’re not going to get much sleep.” Claire and her husband are preparing to spend a night on a bus, from Lot to Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), to go see Pope Leo XIV. With their picnics in the backpack, they must embark in the company of their four children aged 19, 16, 14 and 4 years old, Saturday September 26 around 11:15 p.m., for an arrival scheduled for dawn on Sunday in front of the sanctuary of the famous pilgrimage site. Then, after mass, “we have to leave around 5 p.m.,” adds the mother.

“Everyone tells us that we're doing something crazy by going there, but I think it's going to be very funny,” she continues. “And then, the Pope doesn't come to Lourdes every day. It's something exceptional that we didn't want to miss. We don't often have the opportunity to realize that there are many of us, Catholics.” Like Claire, thousands of French men and women have bent over backwards to attend one of the highlights of this apostolic visit, which extends from Friday to Monday, with several stops in Paris, Lourdes and Metz.

Anaïs, a 37-year-old mother from Nantes, plans to leave her three children with grandparents to support, with her husband, 17 young people aged 17 to 34. “We leave Friday morning with two cars and a camper van and either we go directly to the hotel in 91 [Essonne], or we park directly at the Stade de France,” explains this parish secretary who still has to adjust the program.

The group would like to be able to go to the route of the popemobile, between Notre-Dame-des-Champs and Notre-Dame de Paris, but fears running out of time before the start of the vigil at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. “It’s nice to see the enthusiasm of all these young people. They are just waiting for this,” rejoices the volunteer. Anaïs' group will also be on the Champs-Elysées to attend the giant mass celebrated on Saturday by the Pope at Place de la Concorde, "then with some of the young people, we will head towards Lourdes", she confides. A new journey of around seven hours awaits them.

Louis, a student at the IEP in Lille, does not always attend Sunday mass, but he did not want to miss the big rally on the "most beautiful avenue in the world" either. "I'm going there alone, I'm going there and back by train for the day," he says. "Well, it's going to cost me 90 euros, but the opportunity to go see the sovereign pontiff is too good to refuse this financial sacrifice."

So as not to miss the papal blessing, Hélène, 33, spent a morning in front of her computer, during her vacation, to register for the vigil at the Stade de France and for the Concorde mass. “It’s a bit like the Olympic Games two years ago, having the pope in your city rarely happens in one’s life,” she believes. The young woman hopes for a "magnificent moment of communion", but she does not expect any particular words from the Pope and has even been sometimes embarrassed by certain positions taken by the Vatican, such as opposition to the law on the end of life, "such a complicated subject".

To meet the logistical challenge of the visit of the Bishop of Rome, the Church is counting on numerous volunteers recruited in parishes. Antonella, catechesis coordinator in a Parisian parish, will be stationed on Saturday in an area on the Champs-Elysées, but she will know her precise mission on the morning of the big day. The 62-year-old volunteer sees in the pope's arrival "an opportunity for meetings, evangelization and sharing".

Everyone participates with their skills. “I'm going to play the cello at mass with a few fellow musicians,” confides Philippe. “It will be an extraordinary moment! Nothing can surpass this visit, except that of Jesus himself.” Stanislas and Pierre will be part, for their part, of the 2,500 choristers who will bring their voices to the Stade de France under the direction of the Ecclesia Cantic association. They rehearsed for the first time on Tuesday evening at Stanislas College in Paris, before the final technical adjustments on Friday in the largest sports venue in France. “The artistic experience still promises to be fun; being part of a choir in a stadium is still particularly fun,” says Stanislas, a 24-year-old student lawyer.

The organizers have planned scores generally known to regulars, but have also added two or three pieces by American composers, a nod to the first sovereign pontiff from the United States. "We're going to sing a little bit of everything. Sacred things, a little more classical songs. There's also a little Latin. It's quite diverse to represent the movements and songs of the Church and so that everyone can relate to them," explains Pierre, 26, who works at the Ministry of Justice.

The fervor even extends beyond the sphere of practicing Catholics. Simon is not baptized, but he wanted to volunteer to help with the pope's visit to the city of Metz (Moselle). He will be responsible for welcoming and guiding journalists within the press center. “I am aware of everything that Catholic cultural heritage has brought to my education, to my values, to who I am,” explains this 46-year-old father, who works in Luxembourg. He also says he is interested in the moral figure of the pope. “Leon

Véronique, 56, is not a regular at Sunday homilies either. “I haven’t even made my communion,” she confesses. But this resident of the south of Haute-Garonne did not want to miss the visit of the head of the Church to Lourdes. “I want to see this fervor of 150,000 people coming together, I want to see the event that it creates,” she explains.

The mother took the opportunity to imagine a family adventure, since she will go by car with her 90-year-old mother and her two children aged 16 and 22. The little tribe will leave early in the morning by car to arrive there around 7:30 a.m. and will leave after mass for a journey into the mountains. “Initially, the youngest didn't want to, he said 'it's going to be embarrassing', laughs Véronique. And then finally, he came around saying 'I think I'm going to come because I realize that it's still exceptional'.”