Pope Leo XIV is set to celebrate a major public Mass at Place de la Concorde and along the adjoining Champs-Élysées in Paris on September 26 during his upcoming state visit to France.
The announcement was made on Friday by Laurent Ulrich.
The pontiff is expected to visit France from September 25 to 28, marking the first official state visit by a pope to the country in nearly two decades.
The Mass, scheduled for the early afternoon, is projected to draw approximately 500,000 worshippers.
A separate youth gathering has also been scheduled for September 25 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Ulrich explained that the choice of venues was intended to reflect both the significance of the visit and the enthusiasm of the French people in welcoming the pope.
“I wanted to welcome Pope Leo at venues and symbolic places in Paris and France,” the archbishop said, adding that the locations would demonstrate “the joy of an entire country and its capital in coming out to meet him.”
During the visit, Pope Leo XIV is also expected to hold talks with Emmanuel Macron in Paris before travelling to Lourdes, one of the world’s most prominent Christian pilgrimage destinations.
The pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in Lourdes on September 27 and is also scheduled to preside over another Mass at the cathedral in the northeastern French city of Metz on September 28.
The France visit will come shortly after the pope’s trip to Spain in June, highlighting his growing focus on reconnecting with historically Catholic European nations that have become increasingly secular in recent years.
The development also signals a renewed engagement with parts of Europe that observers say received less attention during the papacy of Pope Francis.
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