The September 25-28 journey takes the pope to Paris, Lourdes and Metz. It is his fifth international Apostolic Journey and the first official visit to France by a pope since Benedict XVI in 2008.

The Vatican has given the trip the motto “That the world may have life,” reflecting Leo’s emphasis on the value and dignity of human life. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the theme is intended to affirm that human life should be welcomed, loved and cared for from conception through natural death.

Leo’s message arrives in a country where debates over abortion and assisted dying have placed questions about life and personal autonomy at the center of public discussion.

Human dignity at the center of the visit

The pope has increasingly framed human dignity as a principle extending beyond a single issue.

At his September 9 general audience, Leo said human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth, social position or personal choices. He described it as inherent to every human being and connected it to responsibility, solidarity and care for others.

That broader approach is expected to shape his message in France.

French bishops have identified the protection of human life as one of the principal themes of the journey. Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French bishops’ conference, said the defense of human dignity is central to the pope’s message.

France’s Parliament passed legislation in June establishing a right to assisted dying for certain adults with incurable conditions. The law followed years of debate over end-of-life care and was strongly opposed by the Catholic Church in France.

France also amended its Constitution in 2024 to protect access to abortion.

The pope is not expected to make the visit primarily a political intervention over either measure. Vatican News editorial director Andrea Tornielli wrote that Leo’s purpose is to meet the French people and address broader questions about what it means to be human rather than enter directly into France’s political divisions.

AI becomes part of the human-dignity debate

Artificial intelligence will give Leo another avenue for addressing the same question.

On Friday, he is scheduled to visit UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where he is expected to discuss artificial intelligence, education, culture and the future of humanity. The Vatican has identified UNESCO as an important setting for examining the relationship between technological progress and human responsibility.

The pope’s position on AI is set out in his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, issued in May.

The document argues that technological development should serve human dignity, truth, work, social justice and peace rather than concentrate power or reduce people to objects of technological systems.

Earlier this week, Leo again linked AI to human dignity during a message to the AI4Peace conference in Rome.

He called for technological development to be guided by wisdom and charity and said innovation should serve the dignity of every person and strengthen bonds between people.

UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér said the pope’s visit comes at a significant moment for the organization as societies confront rapidly developing technologies and questions about human rights, equality and individual autonomy.

France’s secular character shapes the encounter

Leo is visiting a country where Catholicism remains historically important but where public life is governed by a strong tradition of secularism.

France’s system of laïcité separates religious institutions from the state and requires public authorities to remain neutral toward religions. The framework is closely associated with the 1905 law separating church and state.

That makes the pope’s visit different from an engagement with a predominantly Catholic political system.

His message will be delivered to a society containing both practicing Catholics and large numbers of people who do not identify with the Church.

The Vatican has nevertheless noted signs of renewed interest among some young adults. The Holy See said about 13,000 adults were baptized in France at Easter 2026.

The visit is expected to draw large crowds. French Catholic organizers have projected attendance of up to one million people across the various events, although crowd estimates are not equivalent to measures of broader religious affiliation or political influence.

The Church’s abuse crisis remains unavoidable

The pope’s message about human dignity will also be delivered against the background of the Catholic Church’s sexual-abuse crisis in France.

A 2021 independent inquiry estimated that about 330,000 people had been sexually abused as minors by Catholic clergy or other Church personnel in France over seven decades. The report also documented institutional failures in responding to victims.

Leo is scheduled to meet privately with seven survivors during his visit to Lourdes on Sunday.

The meeting has itself drawn scrutiny. Some survivor organizations have questioned the process used to select the participants, while the seven survivors involved have said they are attending in their own names and do not claim to represent all survivors.

The Vatican has presented the meeting as part of Leo’s effort to listen to survivors.

For the Church, the encounter places the pope’s emphasis on human dignity alongside a concrete test of how that principle is applied to people who experienced abuse within Catholic institutions.

From Paris to Lourdes

Leo’s first two days are centered on Paris.

His schedule includes meetings with President Emmanuel Macron and French authorities, a visit to UNESCO, prayers and Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a youth prayer vigil at the Stade de France. On Saturday, he will celebrate Mass at the Place de la Concorde before traveling to Lourdes.

Lourdes carries particular significance for the Catholic Church as a major pilgrimage site associated with healing.

Leo will pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions, meet French bishops, celebrate Mass and meet people receiving care through services connected with the shrine.

The Lourdes portion of the visit also brings the abuse issue into sharper focus because the sanctuary contains mosaics created by the Slovenian priest and artist Marko Rupnik, who has faced allegations of sexual abuse. The Vatican has said Rupnik is undergoing a canonical trial.

Metz turns the visit toward Europe

The final stage of the journey moves away from the immediate religious and domestic questions facing France.

On September 28, Leo will travel to Metz, near the German border, for an interreligious meeting and an event titled “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.” He will also celebrate Mass at Metz Cathedral before returning to Rome.

Metz was chosen partly because of its connection to Robert Schuman, one of the founders of European integration.

The Vatican has identified Europe’s past and future as an important theme of the visit, while French and Vatican officials have linked the journey to questions of peace, European unity and the continent’s identity.

The European dimension comes as the continent faces continuing war, migration pressures and debate over its relationship with the wider world.

Leo’s message will therefore move from questions about the individual person to broader questions about how societies organize themselves around peace and human dignity.

A visit built around one central question

The individual stops on Leo’s itinerary address different audiences, but the Vatican’s framing gives them a common thread.

At UNESCO, the question is how technological progress should relate to human responsibility.

In Paris, the pope will engage French political and civic institutions while presenting the Church’s understanding of human life.

At Lourdes, he will meet the sick and survivors of abuse.

In Metz, he will connect peace and European unity to the continent’s historical foundations.

The result is a visit that places human dignity at the center of several different debates rather than limiting the pope’s message to abortion or assisted dying.

Whether that message changes public debate in France is a separate question.

For now, Leo’s four-day journey gives him a platform to address a country where Catholic influence has declined, while public interest in the pope’s visit remains substantial.

His challenge is to connect the Church’s traditional teaching on human life with contemporary concerns over technology, war, social fragmentation and institutional trust — while speaking to a society whose relationship with religion is increasingly shaped by secular public life.

Reporting Credit: Holy See Press Office — official itinerary and program for Pope Leo XIV’s September 25-28 Apostolic Journey to France; Vatican News — statements and explanations concerning the journey’s themes, human dignity, AI and European peace; UNESCO — information concerning the pope’s September 25 visit and institutional role; French Ministry of the Interior — security arrangements for the papal visit; French Catholic Bishops’ Conference — statements concerning the journey’s themes and meetings.

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