Pope Leo XIV to begin four-day visit to France with Paris mass, Lourdes trip, and 14,000 police deployed

Arrival and Paris schedule

Pope Leo XIV will begin a four-day apostolic journey to France on Friday, September 25, marking the first papal visit to the country in 18 years. Church bells across France will ring simultaneously for seven minutes at 10:00 when the pontiff lands at Paris-Orly airport, followed by a second ringing across Paris at 17:00. After an official reception at the Élysée Palace with President Emmanuel Macron, the Pope will visit UNESCO headquarters to discuss international cooperation on artificial intelligence and human values. Later in the afternoon, a popemobile procession will travel between 2.5 and 3 kilometres from Notre-Dame-des-Champs to Place Saint-Michel before vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral. The opening day will conclude with a youth prayer vigil at the Stade de France.

The bells will ring for seven minutes: a simple and symbolic gesture to mark the beginning of this apostolic journey and allow everyone to take part, wherever they are.

Security operation and mass gatherings

French authorities will deploy security arrangements modeled on the 2024 Olympic Games to manage expected crowds exceeding one million people. Security operations will mobilise more than 14,000 police officers, gendarmes, and Opération Sentinelle soldiers on Friday, alongside 2,500 firefighters. On Saturday, 12,000 security personnel and 2,500 firefighters will maintain order as up to 600,000 people gather from Place de la Concorde along the Champs-Élysées to Avenue de la Grande Armée for an outdoor mass. Regional transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités and police officials expect up to 300,000 spectators along the popemobile route and 80,000 at the stadium, plus 100,000 unticketed visitors. Specialised units including RAID, GIGN, and internal intelligence services will coordinate with Swiss Guards and Vatican gendarmes, supported by 1,400 volunteers along fenced perimeters.

Our priority is to ensure maximum security while minimising the impact on the daily life of Parisians.

Community outreach and travel to Lourdes and Metz

On Saturday, the pontiff will visit Maison Bakhita, a Catholic diocesan centre in northern Paris that has provided unconditional support and training for exiles over the past five years. Association president Valérie Moniot and Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will guide the 30-minute visit. Pope Leo XIV will meet charity workers from Aux Captifs, la libération, including Thierry Desjuzeur, and observe a sewing workshop where five Nigerian women produce textile goods. Following the Paris engagements, the Pope will fly to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Saturday afternoon to pray at the Massabielle grotto. The itinerary also incorporates meetings with victims of clerical sexual abuse before concluding in Metz on Monday, September 28.

Diplomatic context and papal agenda

The visit follows months of diplomatic coordination between the Vatican and the French government after the passage of French euthanasia legislation in mid-July. At the pontiff's request, standard state visit protocols were modified to omit a formal Élysée dinner and a mounted Republican Guard escort. Elected in 2025 as the first North American pope, Robert Francis Prevost lived for more than two decades in Peru as a missionary and Bishop of Chiclayo before his election. Choosing his papal name in homage to Pope Leo XIII, who defended workers during 19th-century industrialisation, the polyglot pontiff speaks five languages and brings a focus on European unity, peace, and technology governance to his UNESCO address.