Leo to visit Notre-Dame and Lourdes, during his September trip to France
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris joyfully welcomed the confirmed trip, and described Paris as a “concentrated” microcosm of the world
VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Details of the Pope’s September voyage to France have been issued by the French episcopate, with highlights being Leo visiting the recently restored Notre-Dame in Paris and the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.
As announced by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline on June 9, Leo XIV will visit some of France’s most prominent Catholic sites when he makes a trip to the country later this year. From September 25 through 28, Leo will make a highly anticipated Apostolic journey – the first official papal journey to France since Pope Benedict visited in 2008.
The itinerary as outlined by the French bishops will see Leo go from north to the far south, before then finishing in the east, and is as follows:
Friday September 25: Solemn Vespers at Notre-Dame de Paris. Priests, deacons and their wives, consecrated persons, religious men and women, as well as seminarians from all over France are invited.
Friday, September 25: large prayer vigil with the young people of France.
Saturday September 26: Papal Mass outdoors in Paris.
Sunday September 27: Papal Mass in the Shrine of Lourdes, on the meadow facing the Cave.
Monday September 28: Papal Mass at Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Metz.
On May 16, the Vatican had already confirmed that Leo XIV had accepted the invitation of the secular and religious authorities as well as the Director-General of UNESCO, such that the papal voyage would include a trip to UNESCO headquarters. Further information about this aspect, along with precise details of the entire trip will emerge later in the summer.
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris joyfully welcomed the confirmed trip, and described Paris as a “concentrated” microcosm of the world:
“In Paris, the capital and world city, so many realities present in the Church in France are indeed concentrated: a Church that prays, gathers in joy, lives the sacraments, and gives thanks to the Lord at all times; a Church of witness, ceaselessly in dialogue with the world, a Church that intervenes tirelessly in the debates that traverse our secularized society; a Church that never renounces caring for the smallest and most fragile.”
Ulrich wrote that the Pope will find in Paris “a Church capable of producing original thought, borne in prayer, on how to be ever more resolutely missionary in its action, welcoming, credible, attentive, and close to all.”
The Archbishop has issued a call for around 10,000 volunteers to help prepare for the papal trip to Paris.
Cdl. Aveline, president of the French bishops’ conference, has been very public about his desire for Leo to visit France and issued an invitation to the pontiff in the earliest days of the pontificate.
“In the exchanges I have had with the Pope since his election, I quickly understood how very interested he was in such a trip,” Aveline revealed in May. “What the Church in France is experiencing, its missionary dynamism but also the challenges it faces, particularly interest him.”
Leo is a French speaker, and has already welcomed President Emmanuel Macron to the Vatican in April, after having met him briefly when traveling with Pope Francis to Ajaccio in Corsica in 2024.
France’s new Ambassador to the Holy See, Charles Personnaz, also presented his credentials to the Pope just last week.
But the Eldest Daughter of the Church is not exempt from attacks on the Faith. France just saw a renewed attempt to violate the Seal of Confession, when lawmakers prepared a proposal which would have seen priests forced to report any details of abuse of minors, if such details were received during Confession. The move ultimately failed after the clause in question was removed from the bill under discussion by the National Assembly.
This context will likely form a key element of Leo’s speeches to both politicians and clergy during his visit. Indeed as part of his wide-ranging tour de force speech to the Spanish Parliament on June 8, Leo firmly defended the sacramental seal, stating:
“the sacramental seal of confession holds special importance for the Catholic Church. It is part of the broader sphere of religious freedom, which guarantees believing communities their own space for life, organization and internal discipline. To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures, as international norms also recognize.”
Leo’s foreign trips have been, for many, a key part of his early pontificate, offering opportunities for him to engage with young people and reveal his charisma. So far such voyages have included:
Turkey, Lebanon
Monaco
Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea
Spain