Vatican News / Wojciech Rogacin – Vatican
Over 700,000 at Saturday Holy Mass
Huge crowds gathered along the Champs-Élysées, around the Place Charles de Gaulle, and at the Place de la Concorde on Saturday afternoon in Paris to meet Leo XIV and participate in the Holy Mass presided over by him.
A sea of French and Vatican flags over the heads of the crowds made the Champs-Élysées shine with joyful colors on a cloudy day.
May the water of the Holy Spirit be poured out upon France
Among those gathered were France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
In the capital of a country with deep Christian roots, which currently guards its secularism, the Holy Father said significant words in his homily: “From this beautiful city, Paris, I fervently pray that the living water of the Holy Spirit be poured out upon all of France.”
300,000 on the route to Notre Dame Cathedral
Large crowds also greeted the Pope the day before – along the route to Notre Dame Cathedral and around the church, where in the afternoon Leo XIV celebrated Vespers with the clergy. The Pope was deeply moved as he sang the Salve Regina hymn with thousands of the faithful.
80,000 enthusiastic young people
In the evening, the full stands of the 80,000-seat Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris welcomed Leo XIV. A beautiful meeting between Leo XIV and the youth took place there. In the presence of the relics of the Holy Tunic of Christ, a moved and joyful Pope thanked the youth for their courage, presence, and faith: “You are the saints of France,” he said, also referring to the beautiful ceremony of the Litany of the French Saints, who are meant to be a model for today’s youth.
Lourdes and Metz as the next stops
On Saturday, the Pope is heading from Paris to Lourdes, where he will pray with the faithful in the evening, and on Sunday he will celebrate Holy Mass there. This sanctuary also ran out of space for the thousands of eager people who wanted to obtain admission tickets.
On Monday, the Holy Father will travel to Metz – the hometown of Robert Schuman – and return to the Vatican in the evening.
