Pope Leo Draws Huge Crowd for Paris Mass

Pope Leo XIV’s open popemobile rolled the roughly two-kilometer route from the Arc de Triomphe area down the avenue toward Place de la Concorde. Crowds chanted “Leo, Leo” and “Long live the Pope.” White and yellow Vatican flags waved along the barriers.

A lifelong Catholic, Farnabe attends Mass every Sunday in the Paris suburb of Suresnes. He has watched the numbers of new baptisms climb among younger adults. “There are more and more converts,” he said. “Many youngsters are interested in faith and in God. Every Sunday, I see new people, people aged between 25 and 40, who are getting baptized.”

The vehicle paused repeatedly so that volunteers could pass children, babies, and people with disabilities forward from the crowd. Leo blessed them. He caressed the babies’ heads. The popemobile moved on toward Place de la Concorde.

The mid-afternoon open-air Mass filled Place de la Concorde, Paris’s largest square at 7.6 hectares. An imposing stage capped with a golden cross rose above the assembly. Rows upon rows of choir singers and clergy occupied the platform. Others prayed under Pope Leo XIV’s gaze.

Vatican estimates put attendance between 700,000 and 800,000. About 600,000-plus had registered in advance. Turnout exceeded those registrations by roughly 100,000 to 200,000.

In the homily Leo told the crowds not to keep their faith to themselves. “let it overflow, so that those you meet may be refreshed and their thirst satisfied,” he said. He then prayed outward from the square itself: “From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France.”

The four-day, three-city visit of Pope Leo XIV to France—Paris, Lourdes and Metz—opened on Friday with prayer at the restored Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral ranks among France’s most notable churches. The stop marked the first papal visit there since the 2019 fire. The Catholic Church in France, long called the eldest daughter of the Church, traces its written record to the second century and to the baptism of Clovis I in 496.

That night about 80,000 young people filled the national stadium for an extravaganza of fireworks and a theatrical retelling of French Catholic history. The gathering kept the 71-year-old pope out until nearly 11 p.m. after a packed first day.

He delivered part of the address off the cuff in French. “Thank you for your courage! Thank you for your presence,” Pope Leo XIV said. “Thank you for your faith. You are the saints of France!”