Pope’s biggest event of France visit draws more than 600,000 registered worshippers as he calls for peace and urges caution over AI…..
Paris was transformed into a sea of Vatican colours on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people gathered along the Champs-Élysées for Pope Leo’s outdoor Mass, the centrepiece of his four-day visit to France.
More than 600,000 people had registered to attend the afternoon service, with worshippers arriving before dawn and filling sections of the tree-lined avenue behind security barriers.
White and yellow Vatican flags were waved through the crowds as police shut several roads along the pope’s route and prepared for his journey in an open-top popemobile.
For some of those waiting, the gathering was about more than religion.
Geraldine Pambou, 42, said she wanted the pope to use the occasion to reinforce his calls for peace after a year marked by several major conflicts.
“The most important thing is that he emphasises world peace,” she said. “There are too many wars.”
Pierre-Marie Estienne, 36, attended with his wife and their four young children and said he was looking to the pope for a message of hope.
“We live in an era of great materialism,” he said. “There is a lot of evil around us, so we need a message of hope and love.”
Pope confronts challenges facing Church
Leo’s visit to France comes as the Catholic Church continues to grapple with the fallout from clerical abuse scandals that have deeply affected its standing in the country.
France has experienced a long-term decline in Catholic affiliation, reflecting wider changes across traditionally Catholic societies in Europe.
The French Bishops’ Conference has nevertheless pointed to growing interest among adults seeking baptism, with about 21,000 adults baptised during Easter this year — a record figure.
But official data from France’s national statistics agency, INSEE, indicate that only 25 per cent of people aged 18 to 49 identified as Catholic, compared with 43 per cent a decade earlier.
During a meeting on Saturday with newly baptised Catholics at the Catholic University of Paris, Leo cautioned the French Church against assuming the recent rise marked a broader revival.
“We must recognise, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns,” he said.
He also urged Catholics to remain realistic about the challenges facing the Church rather than becoming “naively optimistic” about the increase in new members.
Leo warns about AI and global institutions
The pope’s visit has also featured some of his strongest recent interventions on global affairs.
Speaking on Friday at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Leo warned that international institutions, including the United Nations, were facing a crisis.
He has repeatedly raised concerns about the rapid development of artificial intelligence, arguing that technological advances could fundamentally alter the relationship between humans and machines.
In remarks to French leaders, he warned of a possible future in which “a paradise of machines” could take control of the Earth.
His comments have added an international dimension to a visit otherwise focused heavily on the future of Catholicism in France.
Leo has also drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump this year after speaking out against the US war with Iran.
Lourdes visit to follow Paris mass
The pope’s four-day trip covers three French cities and is aimed at both strengthening the Church’s presence in the country and addressing some of the issues that have damaged its reputation.
After Saturday’s Mass in Paris, Leo is scheduled to travel to Lourdes, one of the Catholic Church’s best-known pilgrimage sites.
On Sunday, he is expected to meet seven French people who were victims of abuse by clergy.
The encounter will form one of the most closely watched moments of the visit as the pope seeks to address the experiences of abuse survivors while calling for a renewed commitment to reform within the Church.
