Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day visit to France on Friday, with the principal event being a Mass on the Champs-Élysées anticipated to draw over 600,000 Catholic worshippers. The scale of attendance reflects what Church leaders attribute to renewed spiritual interest among Europeans, even as France has become increasingly secularised. President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope and hold diplomatic talks, but will not attend the religious ceremonies, maintaining France's strict separation of state and religion.

The visit encompasses three locations: Paris on Friday and Saturday, Lourdes on Sunday where 150,000 are expected, and Metz on Monday. Friday evening will see 80,000 young people gather at the Stade de France. The Pope, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955 with French ancestry, will meet migrants in Paris and abuse victims in Lourdes. In Metz, he will honour Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union who is being considered for beatification. Tensions were reported between Macron's office and the Vatican over the ceremonial aspects of the visit, though officials dismissed these as standard diplomatic protocol.