Pope Leo XIV drew an estimated 800,000 people to an open-air Mass on Paris’ Champs-Élysées, highlighting the Catholic Church’s continuing ability to mobilise large crowds despite France’s increasingly secular society. The event brought together practising Catholics, people of other faiths and non-believers, with the pope presenting faith, peace, social justice and unity as messages with wider relevance.

Leo travelled 2 kilometres in his popemobile before celebrating Mass at Place de la Concorde, while central Paris was closed to traffic for security. The turnout exceeded advance registrations by about 200,000, and adult baptisms in France have tripled since 2016 to 13,000 this year; however, total baptisms have fallen sharply from 513,000 in 1980 to 186,000 in 2024. The visit also included prayer at Notre Dame and a planned trip to Lourdes, alongside an 80,000-person youth vigil at France’s national stadium.