Registrations for Pope Leo XIV’s France visit open on August 10
Visit will include private meeting with victims of Church sexual abuse
Published
Pope Leo XIV will make his first apostolic visit to France in September, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend events in Paris, Lourdes and Metz.
The four-day visit, from September 25 to 28, will include meetings with President Emmanuel Macron and UNESCO officials, Masses in Paris, Lourdes and Metz, and a prayer vigil for young people at the Stade de France.
The visit will begin in Paris on Friday, September 25. Pope Leo XIV will meet President Macron before celebrating Vespers at Notre-Dame de Paris.
That evening, he will join a prayer vigil for young people aged 17 to 35 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
On Saturday, September 26, the Pope will celebrate a large outdoor Mass at the Place de la Concorde and along the Champs-Élysées.
Then he will travel to Lourdes, where he will celebrate Mass on September 27 at the sanctuary Notre-Dame de Lourdes.
The visit will end in Metz on Monday, September 28 where he is scheduled to give a speech on Europe at the city’s Congress Centre before celebrating Mass at Saint-Étienne Cathedral.
The theme chosen for the visit is “So that the world may have life”, taken from the Gospel of John.
Pope to meet survivors of sexual abuse
The programme also includes a private meeting with people who have experienced sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
The exact arrangements have not yet been decided, but the Conférence des évêques de France (The French bishops’ conference - CEF) said that survivors themselves would be involved in preparing the meeting.
The conference said: “The people who were victims themselves will be involved in preparing this time of exchange.”
The meeting is planned during the Pope’s time in Lourdes.
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the CEF, said: “The Pope’s visit to our country is a grace that God bestows upon France. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts so that we are ready for what God wishes to give to our Church and our country through the visit of Peter’s successor.”
Registrations open Monday
Free registration for the main public events will open at 12:00 on Monday, August 10.
People wishing to attend the Masses and other public celebrations can register through the official inscription.pape-france.fr website.
Further information about transport, access and the different events will also be published there.
