Pope Leo XIV Draws 800,000 to Paris Ahead of Emotional Lourdes Pilgrimage

France welcomed Pope Leo XIV on Saturday as he travelled by popemobile through Paris to celebrate an outdoor Mass, drawing crowds of hundreds of thousands along the way. People waving flags and cheering lined a two-kilometre route stretching from near the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.

The Vatican estimated that roughly 800,000 people attended the Mass, well above the 600,000 who had registered beforehand. On his way to the ceremony, the pope repeatedly stopped his vehicle to wave to onlookers and bless children and babies.

Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Following the Paris Mass, Leo travelled to Lourdes, where he opened his pilgrimage on Saturday evening with a silent prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions — the site linked to visions reported in 1858 by Bernadette Soubirous, then 14 years old.

On his first full day in Lourdes, the pope walked part of the route to the sanctuary barefoot, greeting pilgrims and stopping to speak with families who had come from across Europe. He spent several minutes in private prayer inside the basilica before holding a closed meeting with shrine rectors and chaplains.

On Sunday, Leo is expected to meet French bishops and lead another outdoor Mass at the sanctuary. His schedule also includes a meeting with sick pilgrims and seven survivors of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy and staff, with the visit ending in a Rosary prayer and a torchlight procession.