Thousands of people have greeted Pope Leo in Paris as he arrives in the French capital for an outdoor service ahead of a visit to Lourdes.
Over 600,000 Catholics registered to attend the mid-afternoon mass on Paris’s famous Place de la Concorde, for what is expected to be the biggest event of the Pontiff’s visit to France.
Spectators arrived on the Champs-Élysées before sunrise to try and secure the best view of Pope Leo who was driven down the boulevard in an open-top popemobile.
Leo is on a whirlwind four-day visit to France, where he is seeking to repair the Church’s standing after abuse scandals shook the nation.
He also plans to meet victims of abuse by clergy at Lourdes on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of today’s service, worshippers said they hoped Leo would use his service to comment on world events.
The Pope warned yesterday in a speech at the Paris headquarters of the UN culture and education body, UNESCO, that the UN and other multilateral groups were in crisis.
He also repeated his frequent appeal for the world to reconsider the development of artificial intelligence, telling French leaders that AI could create a future where ‘a paradise of machines’ takes control of the Earth.
Pope Leo holds a baby as he greets wellwishers in Paris ahead of his mass in the French capital
Spectators arrived on the Champs-Élysées before sunrise to try and secure the best view of Pope Leo who was driven down the boulevard in an open-top popemobile
Geraldine Pambou, 42, said she hoped Leo, who drew rebuke from US President Donald Trump this year for criticizing the US war with Iran, would again speak out for peace.
‘The most important thing is that he emphasizes world peace,’ she said. ‘There are too many wars.’
Pierre-Marie Estienne, 36, was in the crowd waiting for Leo’s mass in central Paris with his wife and their four young children.
‘We live in an era of great materialism,’ he said. ‘There is a lot of evil around us, so we need a message of hope and love.’
France, which has had the separation of church and state enshrined into law since 1905, is one of the most irreligious countries in Europe and the Catholic Church has witnessed a steady decline since the Second World War.
Despite this, France has seen an increase in baptisms of adults, including a record 21,000 last Easter.
However, in a visit on Saturday with newly baptized Catholics at the Catholic University of Paris, Leo urged the French church not to be ‘naively optimistic’ about the recent increase in adherents.
‘We must recognize, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns,’ he said.
