Visit of Pope Leo XIV to Paris: giant mass at La Concorde and departure for Lourdes

A human tide of faithful. According to the Vatican, 700,000 people attended the giant mass organized on the Place de la Concorde on Saturday September 26. In his homily delivered in French, Pope Leo XIV greeted the youth who are, according to him, "the church of today". The outdoor mass, which lasted an hour and a half, was in honor of the Virgin Mary. The sovereign pontiff will now leave Paris and head for Lourdes, which he will return by plane.

Several political figures were seen in the audience at Place de la Concorde. Among them, Brigitte Macron, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, and the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet. National Rally deputies are also there. Among them, Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella and Sébastien Chenu.

It was 2 p.m. when the popemobile began a procession along the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, from the Arc de Triomphe. Acclaimed by a human tide of faithful, Leo XIV greeted the crowd and blessed babies carried to him by volunteers.

In the morning, Leo On this occasion, he pleaded for “living together in dignity and peace”.

The sovereign pontiff will leave the capital at the end of the day, heading towards Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), via the special plane made available to him by the company Air France. He will have time to pray in the grotto of the city sanctuary, where the 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous are said to have occurred in 1858.

Concerning questions about secularism, the Conference of Bishops of France recalled that this mass was the subject of a declaration at the prefecture, like any demonstration authorized in public spaces. An association for the defense of child victims of sexual violence had tried, in vain, to have it banned, and some political voices were raised to question this place given to religion in the public space.

On the issue of sexual assault in the Church, the subject will be discussed tomorrow afternoon in Lourdes during a private meeting with victims of sexual violence. Some participants have already planned to speak at a press conference afterwards.