Pope Leo XIV to Visit Paris for the First Time, Drawing Crowds in the Hundreds of Thousands

Pope Leo XIV arrives in France on September 25 for a four day apostolic journey that will take him to Paris, Saint Denis, Lourdes and Metz, marking the first official papal visit to the country since Benedict XVI's trip in 2008.

The Schedule

The Pope departs Rome's Fiumicino airport at 7:50am and lands at Paris Orly at 10am on the 25th. According to the Vatican's published itinerary, his first day includes greeting crowds along a procession route through central Paris before presiding over Solemn Vespers at Notre Dame Cathedral at 5:15pm, joined by bishops, priests, deacons and religious communities from across France. The evening closes with a prayer vigil for young people at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, where all 80,000 available tickets sold out within minutes of release at the end of August.

His second day includes a visit to the Maison Bakhita Center, an Archdiocese of Paris program supporting migrants and people in exile, before the visit continues on to Lourdes and Metz through September 28. In Metz, the Pope is scheduled to speak at a center bearing the name of Robert Schuman, a French statesman regarded as a founding figure of European integration, on the subject of Europe's roots and unity. President Macron has invited leaders from all 27 EU member states to attend that portion of the visit.

Why Notre Dame Closes to the Public This Week

Because of preparations for the Vespers ceremony, Notre Dame Cathedral is closed to public visitors from September 24 through 26. The cathedral remains fully closed on the 24th, closed to general visitors but open to invited guests during the Vespers service on the 25th, and reopens to the public from 5pm to 10pm on the 26th. The ceremony itself will be broadcast on television for those unable to attend in person.

How Big a Moment This Is for Paris

According to the Paris police prefecture, up to 250,000 people are expected to line the streets along the Pope's procession route through the capital. Charles Mercier, a historian of Catholicism at Paris's École pratique des hautes études, noted that Pope Francis visited French cities including Strasbourg, Marseille and Corsica during his papacy, but never Paris itself, making Leo XIV's visit the first time a pope has come to the French capital specifically since 2008.

What the Visit Is Officially About

The Vatican has classified the trip as an apostolic journey rather than a state visit, meaning its primary purpose is pastoral, centered on the Pope's role as head of the Catholic Church rather than as a diplomatic head of state engagement, even though Leo XIV will meet with French political figures during the trip. The Stade de France vigil follows a tradition established by John Paul II, who held a similar youth gathering at the nearby Parc des Princes in 1980, drawing roughly 50,000 attendees at the time.

Sources: Vatican News official itinerary; Euronews; Notre-Dame de Paris official visitor information.

Photo by Kai Pilger on Unsplash