Pope Leo XIV Draws Huge Crowds in Paris, Heads to Lourdes

On Saturday, September 26, Pope Leo XIV held an outdoor Mass in Paris that drew a crowd the Vatican and various outlets put at roughly 700,000 to 800,000 people, making it the biggest moment so far in a four-day pilgrimage to France set to continue with a stop in Lourdes.¹¹⁴¹⁰³

Crowds line the Champs-Élysées

Hundreds of thousands of people packed the Champs-Élysées on Saturday as Pope Leo XIV rode slowly down the avenue in an open-top popemobile ahead of the Mass. The popemobile stopped repeatedly along the way so the pope could offer blessings to disabled attendees as well as youngsters and infants handed up to him by volunteers. Crowds waved white and yellow Vatican flags and chanted "Leo, Leo" and "Long live the Pope."⁷¹¹¹²

The Mass itself was held at Place de la Concorde, once among the main execution sites of the French Revolution, under a huge white canopy erected as a makeshift altar. Dozens of screens were installed so worshippers along the route could follow the service, which lasted an hour and a half. Attendees began assembling before sunrise for the mid-afternoon service.⁷¹³⁴

How many attended

Crowd estimates varied among outlets. The Vatican put the figure at 700,000, according to some reports, while others cited a Vatican estimate of about 800,000; the Guardian disputed the higher figure. More than 600,000 people had registered in advance, and several outlets reported that the eventual turnout exceeded that number, though the Guardian disputed this as well.⁹¹⁶⁵

Security operation

Vehicle traffic across the heart of Paris, stretching from Place de la Concorde past the Arc de Triomphe, was suspended as part of a sweeping security effort. Roughly 14,500 officers, soldiers, gendarmes and firefighters were mobilized for the occasion, backed by aerial surveillance and rooftop marksmen.⁷¹²³

The pope's message

During his homily, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Catholics to find fulfillment through faith instead of material things, telling the crowd, "Only God can fill the emptiness within us." He expressed gratitude to God for the opportunity to visit France and urged the congregation to openly live out their beliefs rather than keep them private.⁴⁶⁵³

Earlier in the visit, on September 25, the pope warned at UNESCO's Paris headquarters that the United Nations and other multilateral bodies were in crisis, and told French leaders that artificial intelligence could create a future in which machines control the Earth. On September 26 he also stopped by the Catholic University of Paris to greet recently baptized Catholics, cautioning the French church against being "naively optimistic" about an uptick in new members.⁶²⁵

Church and secular France

France is a secular nation, with separation of church and state enshrined in a 1905 law, and the country has seen a steady decline in Catholic affiliation since the Second World War. The French Bishops' Conference has pointed to a rise in adult baptisms, including a record 21,000 last Easter, though a cited INSEE figure on the share of young adults identifying as Catholic was itself contested among reports.⁶²⁵

Voices in the crowd

Sylvie Leclerc explained that she had traveled "to share the Christian fervour," and remarked, "You don't hear much from us Catholics, but now we're going to make some noise! But to proclaim love, peace, joy." Pierre-Marie Estienne, there with his wife and their four young children, described living in "an era of great materialism" and said, "There is a lot of evil around us, so we need a message of hope and love." Benoit Dedieu-Anglade recalled being touched by the pope's remarks, noting, "We must not give in to the easy path or distractions – and I was moved by how he expressed this in such clear, lucid French."⁴³⁶⁵

Dignitaries and politics

Brigitte Macron represented President Emmanuel Macron at the Mass, alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. Le Pen currently leads opinion polls ahead of the 2027 presidential election.⁶⁵

Abuse scandal and Lourdes

The pope is seeking to repair the Catholic Church's standing in France after abuse scandals caused nationwide shock. Following the Paris Mass, the pope was scheduled to head to Lourdes, where on Sunday he plans to meet with seven French individuals who suffered abuse at the hands of clergy.⁶⁵⁸

This marks the pope's first official visit to France in 18 years. It began Friday with the pope's arrival and prayer at Notre-Dame Cathedral, the first such prayer by a pope since the 2019 fire that damaged the building.⁸⁴³⁷

A pope who speaks on peace

Pope Leo, 71, has frequently spoken out for peace. Comments he made earlier in 2026 criticising the war involving Iran drew a rebuke from US President Donald Trump.⁶⁵¹⁰³