Pope Praises Young People As Huge Crowds Join Open-air Mass In Paris

Pope Leo XIV praised the “enthusiasm, energy and commitment” young people bring to the Catholic Church as thick crowds attended an open-air Mass in Paris.

An estimated 700,000 people had gathered for the Mass celebrated by the Pope from a special altar on the Place de la Concorde, on the second day of his four-day visit to France.

It began after the Pope rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue waving to crowds from his open-topped popemobile.

Many senior politicians attended the Mass. On Friday, Leo met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During Saturday’s Mass, Leo told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but “let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed”. The Pope also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as “today’s Church”.

“How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities,” he said.

After being welcomed by President Macron on Friday, the Pope was joined by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

Macron did not attend Saturday’s event and will not be at any of the Pope’s Masses during his visit, largely to avoid appearing to breach France’s strict separation between Church and state. But the Mass was attended by Macron’s wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

Brigitte Macron, France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Senate’s President Gerard Larcher attended the Mass and several candidates for next year’s presidential election also attended.

Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally party and conservative Bruno Retailleau were both pictured at the Place de la Concorde ahead of the event, while centrists Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal were also spotted.

Earlier on Saturday, the Pope met migrants and volunteers as he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and praised the organisation for inviting “us to see those who are invisible”.

He also stressed the “fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love”. The Pope also issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his visit to France on Friday.

Leo cautioned against “losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines” in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace.

Large crowds are expected throughout the remainder of the pontiff’s trip, which the Church believes reflects a growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.

About 150,000 have signed up to attend Mass in the Pyrenean sanctuary of Lourdes on Sunday.

The Pope will be in the north-eastern city of Metz on Monday to pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is a candidate for beatification.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, which had been her mother’s maiden name.