Published on 21/09/2026 – 23:19 GMT+2
Pope Leo XIV is set to make his first official visit to France from 25 to 28 September.
In Paris, excitement is mounting.
Police expect up to 250,000 people to line the streets along the pontiff’s procession route, while around 80,000 have secured tickets for the youth mass at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Paris has not hosted a pope since Benedict XVI’s visit in 2008.
“Pope Francis visited Strasbourg, Marseille, and Corsica, which are on the outskirts of France,” said Charles Mercier, director of studies in the history and sociology of Catholicism at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris.
“But coming to the capital is a big event because it hasn’t happened in a long time. It fuels people’s enthusiasm, and I think that’s one of the reasons for the success of this visit.”
The pontiff’s popularity, which extends well beyond French Catholics, is another driver of excitement. Elected in May 2025, Leo XIV has positioned himself as a pope connected to all.
Leo XIV will spend two days in Paris and the wider Île-de-France region.
He will meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Friday, followed by meetings with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps before visiting UNESCO.
On Sunday, he travels to Lourdes, where he will meet with seven victims of sexual abuse within the Church, including a former pupil of the nearby Notre Dame de Bétharram school. In 2024, over 230 victims lodged complaints over corporal punishment and sexual abuse at that Catholic institution in southwestern France.
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