Pope Leo Draws Huge Crowd for Paris Mass

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass at Paris’s Place de la Concorde on Saturday, drawing an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 people, and urged believers to share their faith in an increasingly secular society. During his four-day visit to France, he also prayed at restored Notre Dame Cathedral—the first papal visit since the 2019 fire and its 2024 reopening—and met migrants, emphasizing dignity and peaceful coexistence. Leo said France should welcome the rise in adult converts; adult baptisms have increased in recent years, though overall Catholic baptisms and participation remain below historic levels. The Mass drew Catholics and people of other or no faith, as extensive security shut down central Paris.