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Pope's visit to France: new walkabout for Leo XIV before mass in Lourdes
The pope will celebrate a new giant mass in front of 200,000 faithful and will meet with the bishops of France.
What you need to know
New marathon day for Pope Leo XIV for his third day in France, Sunday September 27. On the program in particular, a new open-air mass and above all a highly anticipated meeting with hand-picked victims of sexual violence, to the great dismay of many associations. Follow this event live.
A new XXL mass. Around 200,000 people are expected on the square in front of the sanctuary of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), where the pope will celebrate another mass at 11 a.m. Among them, Michelle Sabatté, the dean of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, who will celebrate her 108th birthday, and who will travel specially by ambulance. In order to avoid any oddity, given the tone of the day, the site decided to completely cover the mosaics of the Slovenian priest Marko Rupnik, accused of sexual assault, which adorn the facade of the Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire basilica.
A closed-door meeting with the victims. Leo XIV will meet behind closed doors with seven victims of sexual violence in the Church. “Everyone participates in this meeting in their own name, free to speak, their beliefs and their choices,” warned the victims in a press release. Among them, Jean-Marie Delbos, victim of the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, Bertrand Virieux, victim of priest Bernard Preynat, or even a victim of Abbot Pierre who remained anonymous.
A time dedicated to the sick. Leo XIV is then expected around 3:30 p.m. for a meeting at Accueil Notre-Dame, a place dedicated to sick or disabled pilgrims. In front of the suffering, the pope planned to speak about the end of life, a subject which largely mobilized the Church in France, while Parliament was voting on a text on assisted dying. The day must end with a torchlight procession once night falls, around 9 p.m.
“In the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, peace be with you!” The mass begins in Lourdes to thunderous applause. In total, some 150,000 people gathered for this new giant mass celebrated by Leo XIV.
Arnaud Gallais, president of the MOUV'Enfants association: "We are still facing mass crimes, even a crime against humanity. We have 330,000 victims of child crime in the Church in 70 years, 13 children per day." Arnaud Gallais returned earlier to the meeting between victims of sexual violence and the Pope.
Response from Arnaud Gallais: "Is meeting seven people or even praying enough... I am not convinced, the pope must recognize this crime against humanity." Arnaud Gallais also criticizes Emmanuel Macron for being absent and not tackling this issue.
Leo XIV will meet in Lourdes seven victims of sexual violence committed within the Church, handpicked, to the great dismay of many associations. “It’s true that we could have imagined another meeting format,” admits Jean-Marc Sauvé, who chaired the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), on franceinfo. However, this meeting "is a very important signal of the seriousness of what happened in the Catholic Church, not only in France, in all the countries of the world", he assures.
The care of victims of sexual violence in the Church is now a "permanent" concern of the Church, assures franceinfo Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, who will be present in Lourdes for the visit of Pope Leo XIV. The Church of France "has been a pioneer in its work for years and today it shows that it is not abandoning this subject, but that it is continuing it", he defends.
Leo XIV treats himself to a new walkabout in a popemobile, this time in Lourdes. The pope must celebrate a mass on the meadow of the Marian sanctuary in front of tens of thousands of faithful. Some 150,000 faithful are expected for this new open-air mass.
Since 6 a.m. this morning, a continuous flow of people has been marching towards the square in front of the Lourdes sanctuary, where the pope will celebrate another mass at 11 a.m. Leo XIV will take a popemobile tour around 10:30 a.m. to greet the faithful.
In Lourdes, the Pope's day has already begun. Leo
New marathon day for Pope Leo XIV for his third day in France. On the program in particular, a new open-air mass and above all a highly anticipated meeting with hand-picked victims of sexual violence, to the great dismay of many associations. Including the collective of victims of Bétharram, which brings together 200 victims of sexual violence within the Church. Its co-founder Alain Esquerre regrets on France Inter that Pope Leo XIV does not appear "alongside all these victims".
Response from Alain Esquerre: "We would obviously have found it more relevant that the Pope, who had received 39 requests for an audience, appeared at the time of mass on the meadow of Lourdes alongside all these requesting victims (...) to express his shame and above all to urge the Church of France to finally act concretely."
“My regret is that we were not able to involve more victims,” explains to franceinfo Marie Derain de Vaucresson, head of Inirr (independent national body for recognition and reparation) for five years. “We could also have imagined a message carried by a small number, but built with a much larger number,” she suggests, imagining a day organized in two stages “with 250 or 300 people” in Lourdes.
It's 9 a.m., here is the first update on the day's news: Third day in France for the Pope. Direction Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), where Léon Follow our live stream.
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