Pope Leo XIV drew huge crowds during a four-day apostolic and state visit to France from 25 to 28 September, his first visit to the country. He arrived at Orly airport on Friday and was received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.

Saturday’s open-air Mass at Paris’s Place de la Concorde drew between 600,000 and 800,000 people, with the Vatican putting turnout at about 700,000. About 80,000 young people attended a vigil at the Stade de France, and about 150,000 attended Sunday’s Mass in Lourdes.

In Lourdes on Sunday, the Pope met privately with seven survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Survivor Jean-Marie Delbos called the meeting “extraordinary” and said the Pope listened. The Pope also condemned legalised medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion”. Vatican organisers covered mosaics by Marko Rupnik at Lourdes because of his pending abuse case.

President Macron skipped the religious services in keeping with France’s secular tradition, the Elysee confirmed. The visit was Pope Leo’s most significant public engagement in Europe so far.