Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on Saturday, September 26, drawing an estimated 800,000 people, according to the Vatican. That was about 200,000 more than the roughly 600,000 who had registered in advance. It was the first official papal visit to France in nearly 20 years, since Benedict XVI in 2008.

The pope arrived via a 2-kilometer popemobile parade down the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe, as central Paris closed to road traffic. Flag-waving crowds of multiple faiths and no faith lined the route, and parents brought babies and young children to receive his blessing.

“From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France,” the pope said in his homily. On Sunday, he traveled to Lourdes, where some 150,000 pilgrims were expected at a Mass on the prairie before the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Leo XIV, the first American pope, was elected in May 2025. The four-day journey also included a private audience with President Emmanuel Macron and an address at UNESCO headquarters.