Paris closed its city centre on Saturday for the biggest event of Pope Leo XIV's four-day tour of France: an open-air mass at Place de la Concorde under a giant white canopy, attended by roughly 700,000 people, according to the Vatican. The 71-year-old first American pontiff arrived via the popemobile up the Champs-Elysees, waving to crowds waving French and Vatican flags, with dozens of big screens set up so worshippers could follow the service amid heavy security.
It is the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades, and the turnout has surprised plenty of observers. Friday alone drew an estimated 300,000 people to watch Leo travel to Notre Dame Cathedral, with commentators comparing the atmosphere to John Paul II's famous 1980 Paris visit. One couple interviewed by local media had seen John Paul II back then and turned up again this weekend with their family.
The trip has carried plenty of messages beyond liturgy. On Friday the pope urged France to be a 'tireless champion of peace' while the war in Ukraine continues, and warned against letting AI create a 'paradise of machines' without ethics. On Saturday morning he visited Maison Bakhita, a Paris refugee support centre, speaking about living together 'in dignity and peace' and highlighting women's role in building what he called a civilisation of love. Politicians from across the spectrum were spotted at the mass — Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella among them — though President Macron was represented by his wife Brigitte, seven months before a presidential election the far right hopes to win.
The timing is interesting for France's religious tourism. The country remains deeply secular — only around five percent of its 69 million residents attend Catholic services regularly — yet baptisms of teenagers and adults are quietly rising. After Paris, the pope headed to Lourdes in the southwest, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in a grotto in 1858; there he planned to meet victims of clerical abuse, a still-sensitive topic after a 2021 inquiry estimated some 330,000 people were abused as minors by clergy or church members over seven decades. He wraps up the trip Monday in Metz with a speech on peace in Europe.
For travellers, this is a reminder that France's great pilgrimage sites — Lourdes above all — remain major draws, and a papal visit can transform cities like Paris into crowd-filled, road-closed events. If you're planning a trip around France's Catholic heritage, Lourdes is one of the world's most visited pilgrimage towns, and Notre-Dame's post-fire reopening has pulled Paris cathedral tourism back into full swing. Check papal and event calendars before booking: when the pope is in town, central streets shut down, security locks down whole districts, and hotel prices spike — but the atmosphere is hard to replicate.
