PARIS, France – Pope Leo XIV drew hundreds of thousands of people into central Paris on Saturday for an open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde, turning the Champs-Élysées into a vast gathering of Catholics and other visitors during his first papal visit to France.
The Vatican estimated that about 800,000 people attended, according to Associated Press reporting from the event. A Holy See Press Office bulletin issued afterward gave a lower figure of 700,000 people along the pope’s route and at the Mass, making the exact crowd size uncertain.
The turnout exceeded the more than 600,000 people who had registered in advance and filled the area stretching from the Champs-Élysées toward the Place de la Concorde.
Leo traveled through central Paris in an open-top popemobile before celebrating Mass at the square. The Vatican’s official itinerary had scheduled the Mass for 3 p.m. Saturday as the main public event of his Paris visit.
Leo calls on Catholics to share their faith
In his homily, Leo used the biblical image of water to describe faith and called on those gathered to share what they had received with others.
He urged French Catholics not to keep their faith private, telling the crowd that it should “overflow” so that others could be refreshed and their thirst satisfied.
The pope also spoke about peace, unity, families and young people, describing France’s religious history while acknowledging the role of newly baptized Catholics and catechumens in the country’s Catholic community.
He invoked French saints and Catholic figures including Martin of Tours, Francis de Sales, Vincent de Paul and Frédéric Ozanam as examples of people who had served others.
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A massive gathering in a secular capital
The size of the crowd was notable in a country where religious practice has declined substantially over recent decades.
France remains constitutionally secular, and Catholic identification has fallen as church attendance has weakened. Reuters reported before the Mass that only about 25% of French people aged 18 to 49 identified as Catholic, compared with 43% a decade earlier, citing national statistics.
At the same time, French Catholic officials have reported renewed interest among some adults. The French Bishops’ Conference has pointed to increasing numbers of adult baptisms, including more than 21,000 adults baptized at Easter this year.
The large Paris gathering does not by itself establish a reversal of France’s longer-term secularization. Many people attending the event were also there because of interest in the pope, the public spectacle or his messages on peace and social issues rather than regular Catholic practice.
The event nevertheless demonstrated that the pope could draw a very large public gathering in the French capital.
Place de la Concorde becomes the center of the visit
The Mass took place at one of Paris’s most prominent public spaces.
The Place de la Concorde is closely associated with the French Republic and has hosted major national events. Its selection for the papal Mass drew criticism from some supporters of France’s strict tradition of secularism, who argued that a religious ceremony at such a symbolic civic location was inappropriate.
Organizers said the location was selected because it could accommodate the expected crowd.
The security operation substantially disrupted central Paris. Streets around the Place de la Concorde and Champs-Élysées were closed, while several Metro and RER stations were temporarily shut as authorities prepared for the event.
The city had already expanded preparations as registrations exceeded the original expectations.
The Mass was part of a broader French visit
The Paris event was the centerpiece of Leo’s first official visit to France, which began September 25 and continues through September 28.
On Friday, the pope met President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials before visiting UNESCO and celebrating Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral. He later attended a prayer vigil with about 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
On Saturday morning, before the Mass, Leo visited the Maison Bakhita social-support and integration center and met members of the provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and newly baptized Catholics at the Institut Catholique de Paris.
After the Paris Mass, he traveled to Lourdes, where he was scheduled to continue his pilgrimage before proceeding to Metz for the final part of the journey.
The visit also carries difficult questions for the Church
The large crowds have come during a period when the Catholic Church in France continues to confront the legacy of clergy sexual abuse.
A 2021 independent investigation estimated that about 330,000 children had been sexually abused by Catholic clergy or other church figures in France over seven decades. Leo’s visit includes meetings with abuse survivors in Lourdes.
That part of the visit has placed the pope’s public message about faith and renewal alongside demands for accountability from survivors and advocates.
The Paris Mass itself focused on faith, peace, unity and Christian witness rather than directly addressing the abuse crisis.
Leo’s visit also includes appearances connected to wider international issues. During his time at UNESCO, he has addressed questions surrounding artificial intelligence and the protection of human dignity, themes that have featured prominently in his papacy.
For the French Church, the scale of the Paris gathering provides a highly visible moment of public engagement.
It does not settle the larger question of Catholicism’s place in a secular French society.
But for several hours on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the heart of Paris to hear the pope celebrate Mass and call for faith to be carried beyond the church and into public life.
Reporting Credit: Holy See Press Office — official account of Pope Leo XIV’s September 26 Mass and crowd estimate; Vatican — official itinerary and papal homily; Diocese of Paris / Catholic Church in France — official arrangements for the Paris Mass; French public authorities — security and transportation arrangements for the papal visit.
