Brief

Pope Leo XIV concludes France visit with mass and speech on Europe’s future

The 71‑year‑old American pope ended his French tour with an open‑air mass in Paris and a speech at the Robert Schuman Centre in Metz, calling for unity and peace amid European tensions.

By Felo News Desk · Published Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:12:25 GMT

Pope Leo XIV finished a four‑day tour of France on 28 September with a mass that drew an estimated 700,000 people in Paris’s Place de la Concorde, according to the Vatican. The event followed a day of meetings with survivors of child sexual abuse and a visit to Lourdes, and was the final stop before the pope addressed a gathering on Europe’s future in Metz.

Mass in Paris

The open‑air service on the Champs‑Élysées was the largest of the visit, with the Vatican estimating 700,000 attendees, about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered. The pope, 71, spoke to the crowd from the Papamobile before leading the service in the heart of Paris.

Meeting with Abuse Survivors

Earlier that day, Leo met privately with seven survivors of child sexual abuse by French clergy. The survivors said the pope listened to them, was informed of their cases and urged more work to respond to the scandal.

Speech in Metz

In Metz, Leo was expected to speak at the Robert Schuman Centre in a meeting titled “At the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.” The venue, named after the former French foreign minister who helped found the European Union, was chosen for its symbolic link to European unity. The pope warned against rising nationalism, called for peace in Ukraine and urged the Catholic Church to heal “deep wounds” and “painful errors.”

French President Emmanuel Macron had invited representatives from all EU member states to attend, though it is not clear who actually attended.

Key facts

Pope Leo XIV’s mass in Paris attracted an estimated 700,000 people (theguardian.com)
The pope met privately with seven survivors of child sexual abuse by French clergy (theguardian.com)
Leo delivered a speech on Europe’s role in Metz at the Robert Schuman Centre (theguardian.com)
The visit began on 25 September and ended on 28 September 2026 (theguardian.com)

Background

The visit followed a four‑day tour that began with a welcome at Orly and talks with President Macron, and included youth rallies, a pilgrimage to Lourdes and a tribute to EU founder Robert Schuman.