Pope Leo XIV Ends Four-Day France Visit with Farewell at Nancy Airport

Pope Leo XIV departed France on Monday following a farewell ceremony with President Emmanuel Macron at Nancy airport, bringing a four-day visit to a close.

Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were on hand to receive the pope as he arrived at the airport. The two leaders held a final bilateral meeting before the pontiff boarded his plane. The pope was also seen greeting and shaking hands with officials during the send-off.

Over the course of the trip, Leo travelled to Paris, Lourdes and Metz. On his last day in the country, he urged Europe to look to its Christian roots and its tradition of dialogue as a counter to the "desire for domination" that he said drives today's wars. He also recalled the forces that helped bring about the continent's peaceful integration.

The pope's stop in Metz, in eastern France near the borders with Luxembourg and Germany, was intended to honour Robert Schuman, the French Catholic statesman widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of European unity after the Second World War.