Pope will hold public mass in Paris during France visit
Leo XIV to celebrate mass at Place de la Concorde and Champs Elysées in September
It will be the first state visit of a Pope to France since 2008
Riccardo De Luca - Update/Shutterstock.
Pope Leo XIV will hold a mass at Paris’ Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysées on September 26, the Archbishop of Paris has announced.
The French Bishops’ Conference announced in May that plans were underway for Pope Leo XIV to make his first state visit to France, with a stop in Paris expected.
The pontiff is yet to officially visit the country, bypassing the French border and arriving in Monaco via helicopter during a state visit in March 2026.
The Pope’s predecessor Francis also never made a state visit, although he went to France several times including to Marseille and Corsica.
The last official visit from a Pontiff to France was in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Despite France being a secular country due to the separation of church and state (laïcité) the high number of Catholics in France and the geopolitical relationship between France and the Vatican make diplomatic relations common.
There are reports that tensions between Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron persist over issues including France’s decision to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution, and the replacement of stained glass windows in the Notre Dame cathedral during its reconstruction.
