Pope Leo XIV speaks against assisted dying before 150,000 pilgrims in Lourdes
During the third day of his visit to France, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for 150,000 pilgrims in Lourdes and rejected assisted dying during a meeting with sick patients and healthcare staff.
Morning Mass at the sanctuary
On the third day of his apostolic journey to France, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass before approximately 150,000 faithful on the Prairie at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Pilgrims began gathering at the site at 05:00 ahead of the 11:00 service, with organizers reserving at least 7,000 places specifically for sick and disabled participants. During his homily, the Pope urged the assembly to depart as missionaries of hope and to pursue personal conversion immediately rather than delaying change. He told the sick in attendance that they remain in the heart of the Church, while criticizing modern tendencies that seek to redefine the value of human life in the presence of suffering or advanced age. Leo XIV also addressed global armed conflicts, stating that the root of evil lies within the human heart. The service followed his arrival on the evening of 26 September, when he prayed at the Massabielle Grotto, entrusting France to the Virgin Mary and appealing for the defense of human rights and the rejection of war.
- Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lourdes and prays at the Massabielle Grotto
- Pilgrims begin gathering at the sanctuary grounds
- Meeting with the French Bishops' Conference
- Holy Mass celebrated on the Prairie before 150,000 pilgrims
- Rosary prayer and candlelit procession
Address on healthcare and assisted dying
Following the morning liturgy, Leo XIV visited the Accueil Notre-Dame center, an institution that provides medical assistance and hospitality to roughly 30,000 people annually. Speaking to patients, healthcare personnel, and volunteers, the Pope focused on the inviolability of human life in a country that enacted legislation on assistance in dying. He rejected the practice of ending life under the guise of false compassion, reminding clinicians that not everything permitted by civil law is morally right. He referenced his 22 June address to the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, reiterating that medicine must never become the servant of programmed termination. Leo XIV addressed the vulnerability of patients dealing with chronic pain directly during his speech.
I know that for some of you, because of specific illnesses and sometimes terrible pain, the future may appear dark, uncertain, and without a way out. However, no human law can deprive you of the certainty of your dignity.
The Pope urged doctors, nurses, chaplains, and volunteers to act as zealous servants of life through expanded palliative care and ongoing scientific research. He cautioned against allowing technical metrics to govern medical ethics or human dignity.
No one ever has the right to decide based on laboratory algorithms about the life of a specific embryo or a specific elderly person.
Meetings with bishops, crowds, and victims
The papal itinerary on Sunday also included institutional meetings and interactions with local crowds. At 09:00, prior to the open-air Mass, Leo XIV met with members of the French Bishops' Conference. During transit between events, the Pope made an unscheduled stop to accept a pizza prepared for him by a group of waiting onlookers, an exchange recorded on video by spectators along the route. The program also arranged a private meeting in Lourdes with victims of sexual abuse by clergy. The Church-established independent body INIRR manages support and rights protection for survivors in France, following records documenting 216,000 minor victims of clerical abuse between 1950 and 2020. The Lourdes visit concludes with a Rosary prayer and a candlelit procession scheduled for 21:00.
