Pope Leo XIV Holds Mass for 800,000 in Paris

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open air Mass on Saturday, September 26, at 3 p.m. at Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris. According to a Vatican estimate, around 800,000 people attended, nearly 200,000 more than the roughly 600,000 who had pre registered. The Mass was the central event of the pope’s four day visit to France, running from September 25 to 28.

Before the Mass, Leo XIV rode two kilometers down the Champs Elysees, the main Parisian boulevard leading to Place de la Concorde, in the popemobile. In his homily, he urged the faithful not to keep their faith to themselves but to share it with others:

From this beautiful city of Paris, I fervently pray that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow through the whole of France.

A Visit to Migrants and a Rise in Baptisms

The pope began Saturday morning with a visit to Bakhita House, an association of the Paris archdiocese that takes in Christian and Muslim migrants. From there he went to the Catholic Institute of Paris, where he welcomed the rise in baptisms recorded over the past several years. There, he said:

We must recognize, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has lit in the darkness of night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even among the thorns.

What Happened on Friday?

The visit to France began on Friday, September 25. That day, around 300,000 people greeted the pope in the streets of Paris, and in the evening a vigil was held at the Stade de France in Saint Denis for 80,000 young people. Speaking to the crowd in French, without a prepared text, Leo XIV drew loud cheers:

Thank you for your courage! Thank you for being here. Thank you for your faith. You are the saints of France!

That same day, the pope also visited the restored Notre Dame cathedral, his first papal visit to the church since the devastating fire of 2019.

The number of adult baptisms in France has tripled since 2016, reaching 13,000 this year, 2026. That is a rise, but not a reversal of the long term decline: France recorded 513,000 baptisms in 1980, and only 186,000 in 2024.

Why Place de la Concorde?

During the French Revolution, Place de la Concorde was a site of execution, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined, and today it traditionally hosts Bastille Day celebrations. Organizers of the Mass said it was the only location in central Paris able to hold such a large crowd.

The choice of venue was criticized by supporters of strict French secularism, based on the 1905 law separating church and state, who consider the square a symbol of the Republic. They pointed to the Les Invalides complex as a more fitting location, where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in 2008 before 240,000 people.

Among the hundreds of thousands gathered were families with children, whom Leo XIV stroked on the head as he passed through the crowd in the popemobile. Sylvane Le Goff, 68, who lives in the Paris region, came to the Mass with her grandchildren, aged 10 and 12, to give them, as she put it, unforgettable memories.

After the Mass at Place de la Concorde, the 71 year old pope set off for Lourdes, where the second part of his visit to France begins, with pilgrims, the sick and abuse victims, and a program that also includes a visit to UNESCO headquarters. It is Leo XIV’s fifth international apostolic trip since his election to lead the Catholic Church.