Pope Leo XIV drew a sea of worshippers to Paris' Champs-Elysees on Saturday, presiding over an outdoor Mass that officials say attracted about 800,000 people in the largest event of his four-day trip to France. The pope rode in an open Popemobile down the famed boulevard, stopping often to bless children, babies, and people with disabilities as crowds chanted his name and waved Vatican flags, Reuters reports. Political and business figures attending included first lady Brigitte Macron, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Leo was cheered when he thanked God for the opportunity to visit France, per the Guardian.
From the altar near Place de la Concorde, he urged Catholics to reject materialism and seek fulfillment in faith, telling the crowd, "Only God can fill the emptiness within us." The church in France is working to rebuild trust after abuse scandals while facing a long-term decline in Catholic identification in officially secular France. Earlier in the trip, he criticized the state of global institutions at UNESCO and warned French leaders about the unchecked advance of artificial intelligence, cautioning against "a paradise of machines."
The Place de la Concorde was the site of bloody executions by guillotine during the French Revolution, when the Catholic rule of Louis XVI was ended. As a symbol of the French republic, the choice of the site was criticized by those invoking the nation's legislation that strictly separates church and state. Organizers said it was the only area in central Paris that could accommodate such large crowds, per the AP. Leo traveled next to Lourdes, where he is scheduled to meet seven French survivors of clergy abuse on Sunday.
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