Pope Leo is on his way to France for a four day pastoral visit starting Friday, September 25 to September 28.
The Pontiff, who is the first American Pope, will be in France to address key issues including global regulation of Artificial Intelligence, and to mend the image of the Catholic Church after clergy abuse scandals.
During the visit, the Pope will stop in Paris, Lourdes, the famous Catholic shrine in the southwest, and Metz, a city on the German border that played a central role in the creation of the European Union.
About 600,000 people have registered to attend an open air Mass with the Pope in central Paris on Saturday. The crowd is expected to spill onto the Champs-Élysées avenue. Retired French Bishop Marc Stenger said the visit has created a real tidal wave of interest.
On Friday, Pope Leo is scheduled to meet with President Emmanuel Macron and other French leaders at the Élysée Palace, and later address staff at UNESCO headquarters. UNESCO is currently facing funding challenges after the United States pulled out of the agency in 2025 under President Donald Trump.
AI is top on the Pope’s agenda. He has repeatedly warned about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence and has called for world leaders to put global rules in place. On Thursday at the Vatican, he said AI can help humanity but also poses new threats to security and world peace, urging leaders to govern wisely.
The visit comes at a time when Catholic leaders in France are at odds with the government over the 2024 inclusion of abortion rights in the constitution and the recent law legalising assisted dying for terminally ill adults.
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