Live Visit of the Pope to France: Leo XIV is received at the Elysée by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron
The sovereign pontiff begins his first visit to France on Friday with a stopover in Paris and Saint-Denis.
What you need to know
White smoke for Leo XIV's trip to French soil. The American pope's plane landed in Paris around 10 a.m. (French time), Friday, September 25, after leaving Rome two hours earlier. The church bells of France rang for seven minutes to celebrate his coming. He was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte. The head of state and religious then began a four-day marathon in France by being received at the Elysée at the end of the morning, where he met the presidential couple. Follow our live stream.
A reduced diplomatic component. If the President of the Republic welcomed the sovereign pontiff upon his arrival at the airport, exchanges between Leo XIV and Emmanuel Macron will be quite limited. The Pope went to the Elysée, but also to meet the diplomatic corps and civil society. No face-to-face lunch between the two men, the Bishop of Rome preferring to take his meals at the apostolic nunciature, the official representation of the Holy See in Paris.
Crowd bath in sight. Leo The building will be closed from September 24 to 26 to the public due to this exceptional celebration.
A symbolic vigil at the Stade de France. You had to be between 17 and 35 years old and be responsive when registering to get your seat in Saint-Denis to attend the vigil, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The evening will begin with a musical prologue, including performances by Natasha Saint-Pier and Monroe, the French candidate for Eurovision 2026, before the opening of the vigil punctuated by pop-praise pieces. Leo
The papal car (a sedan, the popemobile only taking service this afternoon) has just arrived in the courtyard of the Elysée and Pope Leo XIV is getting out. It has been 18 years since a sovereign pontiff visited the presidential palace.
According to our colleagues from La Croix, on the plane, the Pope spoke with journalists for half an hour before the start of his visit: "I am going to France, like everywhere else in the world, above all as a disciple of Jesus Christ, with the desire to announce the peace of Christ throughout the world."
The Pope was supposed to be at the Elysée at 11 a.m. but his car is still on the way to the presidential palace, we are already behind schedule after an hour on French soil.
Already a “Tour de France” atmosphere with a large crowd on the route of the papal procession towards the Elysée, tweets a Spanish journalist.
Quick as lightning, Emmanuel Macron's X account publishes images of the meeting with the pope.
Sébastien Lecornu, for his part, arrived at the Elysée to participate in Léon XIV's meeting with representatives of the authorities, diplomacy and civil society, one of the political highlights of the trip.
Léon XIV and Emmanuel Macron talk out of sight in a room at Orly airport. It's time to have a snack, why not a flan, to regain your strength before this long day of celebrations.
This is Georges Koovakad, who is in charge of interreligious dialogue and the GO of papal trips. He is part of a little-known branch of Catholicism, and therefore his hat, the shash, is typical of the Syro-Malabar tradition. It is therefore linked to one's faith and not to any particular coquetry, religious head coverings being quite codified.
The image we were all waiting for. Like Lionel Messi, the pope signed the Léon 14 flocked football jersey, from FC Jésus, handed to him by a nun on the tarmac.
