Pope Leo XIV will hold a mass on Sept. 26 on the Place de la Concorde and adjoining Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris during a state visit, the French capital's archbishop Laurent Ulrich said on Friday. The pope will be in France from Sept. 25 to 28 for the first official state visit by a pontiff in 18 years.
Details of the Mass and Expected Attendance
The mass on the iconic avenue in central Paris will be held in the early afternoon and is expected to draw 500,000 people, according to the diocese. On Sept. 25, a gathering with young people is also planned at the Stade de France stadium in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Ulrich added.
“We want these events to be open to as many people as possible, who will no doubt be coming from all over France,” said the archbishop. Ulrich said he wanted to welcome Pope Leo “at venues and symbolic places in Paris and France,” which demonstrate “the joy of an entire country and its capital in coming out to meet him.”
Pope's Itinerary and Meetings
After Paris, where he will meet President Emmanuel Macron, the pope will travel to Lourdes, a pilgrimage site for Christians worldwide, to hold an open-air Mass on Sunday, Sept. 27. He will also hold another mass at the cathedral in the northeastern city of Metz on Sept. 28.
The first pope from the US, Leo, was elected in May 2025. His visit to France will follow a trip to Spain in June, demonstrating the pope's interest in engaging with historically Catholic yet increasingly secular European countries, which had been largely overlooked by his predecessor, Francis.
