Pope Leo Begins Four-Day Visit to France

Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to France, traveling to Paris, Lourdes and Metz, and said he hoped to bring a message of peace amid global tensions. Organizers expect more than 600,000 people at Saturday’s open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde and more than one million participants across the trip, with crowds also anticipated along his Paris route and at a youth prayer vigil. The visit, France’s first official papal visit in 18 years, is expected to boost tourism and local businesses. In a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, Leo praised France’s human-rights tradition while criticizing abortion and a law permitting euthanasia. His itinerary includes Lourdes, a pilgrimage site associated with Bernadette Soubirous’s reported visions of the Virgin Mary, and a speech on Europe in Metz.