Pope Leo XIV's Air France charter received a military escort of two French fighter jets for the flight from Lourdes to Metz for the third and final leg of the Supreme Pontiff's visit to France on Monday. Leo XIV was on a four-day trip to France that included stops in Paris, Lourdes and Metz.The two French Air Force aircraft flew 50 meters from the A321, whose flight was commanded by Captain Clémence Coussonneau. The gesture was made as a sign of respect. On Monday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a photo of Leo's plane taken by one of the jets while in flight, writing, “Welcome to Metz, Most Holy Father.”Leo travelled to the eastern city of Metz, near the border with Luxembourg and Germany, to honour Robert Schuman, a French Catholic statesman regarded as one of the founding fathers of European unity after World War II.Leo decided to end his visit to France in Metz, at a conference centre named for Schuman, to drive home his appeal. The American pope wants Europe to draw from its Christian foundations and traditions to respond to wars and other conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the challenges of migration.In his final event in France, Leo celebrated Mass in the cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz, a city with a long history of conflict that was part of Nazi Germany during the war.
