About 700,000 people gathered in central Paris for Pope Leo XIV’s Mass on Saturday, turning the French capital into the scene of one of the country’s largest religious gatherings in decades.
The Vatican said the crowd exceeded the 600,000 people who had registered in advance. The turnout came despite a steep decline in churchgoing and the growing influence of secularism in France and across Europe.
Addressing the congregation, Pope Leo urged people in the largely secular country “to build a renewed nation upon roots nourished by faith”.
The Mass was held at Place de la Concorde, with crowds also filling the Champs-Élysées. Central Paris was closed to traffic under a major security operation, but the atmosphere was described as festive, with people of different faiths and no religious affiliation joining Catholics.
As the Pope travelled slowly through the crowds in the popemobile, parents brought babies and young children forward for him to touch their heads.
“The message of Pope Leo goes well beyond Catholic people; he speaks about social justice, for example,” said Leontine Joseph, 42, a Catholic who attended with two friends of Moroccan origin who had grown up in Muslim culture.
Others said they had come because of the Pope’s message rather than as practising Catholics. Thierry Chen, a 40-year-old Parisian entrepreneur, said: “You see a lot of different people here, so it’s not just about one race, religion or nation, but about a common belief in humankind.”
The four-day visit began on Friday with Pope Leo’s arrival and a prayer at Notre Dame Cathedral, his first visit to the restored building since the devastating fire in 2019. He was joined for a prayer service by people involved in its reconstruction, and is due to continue his visit with prayers at the Catholic shrine at Lourdes.
Pope Leo XIV’s Mass in a secular France
The choice of Place de la Concorde carried particular significance in a country where public life is governed by a strict form of secularism under the 1905 law separating church and state.
Organisers said the square was the only central Paris location large enough for the expected congregation. The area available for the crowd was expanded last week after forecasts suggested attendance would be higher than initially anticipated.
Some committed supporters of secularism criticised the decision, arguing that the square represents the French Republic. They said the Invalides, where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass before 240,000 people in 2008, would have been a more suitable venue.
Place de la Concorde was designed in the late 18th century and was one of the main sites of execution during the French Revolution. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined there, while French presidents traditionally use the square for Bastille Day celebrations.
The size and enthusiasm of Saturday’s gathering recalled other mass events on the Champs-Élysées, including celebrations after France won the football World Cup in 1998 and 2018.
Jean-Claude Farnabe, who turned 63 on Saturday, spent the morning securing a place in the crowd. A lifelong Catholic who attends Mass every Sunday in Suresnes, a Paris suburb, he said he had seen growing interest in religion.
“There are more and more converts,” he said. “Many youngsters are interested in faith and in God. Every Sunday, I see new people, people aged between 25 and 40, who are getting baptized.”
Adult baptisms in France have tripled since 2016, reaching 13,000 this year. French bishops also said that more than 21,000 adults and teenagers were baptised at Easter, a rise on the previous year.
However, the increase has not reversed the longer-term decline. The number of baptisms in France fell from 513,000 in 1980 to 186,000 in 2024, while many children of practising Catholics no longer attend Mass or are baptised as babies.
Sylvane Le Goff, 68, attended with her grandchildren, aged 10 and 12. Though raised Catholic and no longer practising, she said she wanted to give them an unforgettable experience and share Pope Leo’s message of peace and unity.
