Pope Leo XIV arrived in France on Friday for a four-day apostolic journey that will take him from Paris and Saint-Denis to Lourdes and, finally, Metz, combining meetings with French political leaders with encounters with young people, the Catholic community, the sick and representatives of other religions.
The visit, running from September 25 to 28, is Leo’s first apostolic journey to France and the first full papal visit to the country since Benedict XVI’s journey in 2008.
The pope landed at Paris-Orly Airport at about 10 a.m. local time after departing Rome earlier in the morning aboard the papal plane. His arrival marked the beginning of his fifth international apostolic journey and his first visit to France as pope.
President Macron greeted Leo XIV on the tarmac before accompanying him to the Elysee Palace, where the two held a private meeting. The French president and the pope had previously met at the Vatican in April, but Friday’s encounter marked their first meeting in France during Leo’s pontificate.
Later Friday, Leo is scheduled to visit the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris.
The meeting will focus on issues surrounding education, culture and technological change, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence. UNESCO has said its encounter with the pope will address the implications of AI for education, information and artistic creation.
The visit is significant because it brings the Pope into direct contact with one of the United Nations’ principal institutions dealing with education, science and culture.
Leo will then travel to Notre-Dame Cathedral, where he is scheduled to celebrate Vespers with priests, religious men and women and other consecrated people from the Diocese of Paris.
The restored cathedral, which reopened after the devastating 2019 fire, will be one of the most prominent religious settings of the Paris portion of the journey.
Later Friday, the pope will travel to Saint-Denis, north of Paris, for a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France.
The event is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of the visit and forms part of the Vatican’s emphasis on young Catholics and the future of the Church in France.
On Saturday, Leo will visit Maison Bakhita, a centre involved in welcoming and supporting migrants and people experiencing social difficulties.
He will then meet catechumens and newly baptized Catholics before celebrating Mass at Place de la Concorde.
After the Paris programme, Leo will travel to Lourdes, the major French Catholic pilgrimage site associated with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The pope’s final destination will be Metz, in northeastern France, on Monday.
There he will take part in an interreligious meeting before addressing a gathering devoted to the theme “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.”
The visit will conclude with Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral before Leo returns to Rome.
