Pope Leo XIV to Make Four-Day Apostolic Journey to France from September 25

Pope Leo XIV is set to make an official four-day apostolic journey to France from September 25 to 28, visiting Paris, Lourdes and Metz. The trip marks France's first official papal state visit in 18 years.

Paris leg

The visit opens on September 25 with the pope's departure by air from Rome's Fiumicino International Airport for Paris, followed by a welcome ceremony at Paris Orly International Airport. A courtesy visit to the President of the Republic is scheduled at the Élysée Palace, after which the pope will meet authorities, civil society representatives and the diplomatic corps at the same venue and deliver an address.

Later that day, the pontiff is due to visit UNESCO headquarters and address the organisation. He will then leave Notre Dame des Champs Church in the popemobile, travelling through key locations in the city, before celebrating Vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and seminarians at Notre-Dame Cathedral. The day concludes with a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, where the pope will give an address.

On September 26, the schedule includes a visit to the Maison Bakhita Centre for Social Support and Integration and a meeting with members of the Provincial Synodal Assembly, catechumens and newly baptised people at the Institut Catholique de Paris. A Holy Mass is planned at Place de la Concorde, with the pope travelling along the Champs-Élysées in the popemobile from the Arc de Triomphe beforehand. He will then depart for Lourdes, arriving at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées International Airport, and pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions at Massabielle in the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Lourdes and Metz

In Lourdes on September 27, the pope will meet the bishops of the French Episcopal Conference at the Saint Bernadette auditorium and celebrate Mass at the Prairie of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, followed by the Angelus. He will also meet staff and the sick community of Accueil Notre-Dame and hold a private meeting with contemplative religious sisters at the Carmelite Monastery. The evening features the prayer of the Holy Rosary and a torchlight procession at the shrine.

The journey concludes on September 28 in Metz, where the pope will attend an interreligious meeting and a gathering titled "To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity" at the Robert Schuman Conference Centre. A popemobile ride through the city centre is planned before a Holy Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Stephen. The pope will then depart for Rome.

Issues in focus

The visit comes as France grapples with issues including sexual abuse and right-to-die legislation. Ahead of the trip, mosaics by the religious artist Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik at the Lourdes sanctuary are being covered up. A lawyer representing women who say they were sexually abused by the former Jesuit priest has been among those commenting on the case.