Visit of Pope Leo XIV to Paris: the faithful and volunteers are mobilizing

What better way to wait than to keep busy? On the outskirts of Notre-Dame, Friday September 25 in the morning, dozens of young volunteers adorn the streets in the colors of the Vatican, yellow and white. They came from all over France especially to welcome Pope Leo XIV in Paris.

"Me, I've been awake since 5:30 a.m. I put up the barriers. I'll continue all day. Tomorrow, I'm still here. So, we give everything for him and for Christ," confides a volunteer. “It’s unique, it’s exceptional. I come from Strasbourg just for that. So, yes, it’s an experience to live,” says a young man.

Volunteers, religious or simple faithful, in the early hours of the day, many of them disembarked from the trains at Montparnasse station, like a Mexican seminarian: "It is a very important event because the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, but he is also the spiritual representative of Christ here on Earth."

"I'm super happy, the big day has arrived. There I'm going to approach the cathedral, to be as close as possible to hear the bells ringing as soon as it arrives in Paris", also rejoices a woman. "We're all going to meet up, Catholics or not Catholics, but there you go, we're all going to be together and then see the Pope. Well, see him. I don't know if I'll see him, but hey, at least we'll all take part in that," marvels another.

At 4 p.m., it is in front of the Notre-Dame-des-Champs church that the sovereign pontiff will begin his Parisian stroll. In the meantime, seniors installed since Friday morning are ready to hold on. “Folding seats, a cane, a sun hat, sandwiches, drinks…”, summarizes one of them, ready to wait another six hours.

“We wanted to say thank you for coming, welcome. For us, it’s a joy and a blessing,” explains a woman. “I went to see him at his house at Easter, so it’s great to say that it’s him who’s coming to see us. And also, I tell myself that as he has a little French origin, maybe he wanted to come and see us,” hopes another. At midday, the first public accesses finally opened around the cathedral.