Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to France on Friday, with more than half a million people expected to attend a major outdoor Mass in central Paris.
An altar has been erected at the Place de la Concorde for Saturday afternoon’s service, while police have sealed off a large area around the Champs-Élysées. Organizers expect about 600,000 worshippers to fill the avenue from the square to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.
President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the pope at Orly Airport and is scheduled to hold talks with him at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical issues and artificial intelligence. The two leaders are also expected to deliver remarks in Metz during a visit drawing large crowds and renewed attention to what the Catholic Church describes as a growing spiritual hunger in France and across Europe.
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