--- title: "After a record Paris Mass, Pope Leo takes France’s faint revival to Lourdes" description: "Some 800,000 turned out at the Place de la Concorde; at the shrine a harder test awaits: meetings with abuse survivors" author: "Albion Grey" published: 2026-09-26T20:15:56Z modified: 2026-09-27T00:08:14Z url: https://rews.cc/a/after-a-record-paris-mass-pope-leo-takes-france-s-faint-revi-86c973 language: en tags: ["pope", "religion", "france", "lourdes", "migration", "europe"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # After a record Paris Mass, Pope Leo takes France’s faint revival to Lourdes *Some 800,000 turned out at the Place de la Concorde; at the shrine a harder test awaits: meetings with abuse survivors* By Albion Grey · September 26, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/after-a-record-paris-mass-pope-leo-takes-france-s-faint-revi-86c973 ## In brief - The Vatican estimates about 800,000 attended Pope Leo’s open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde - In Paris the pope visited Notre-Dame, UNESCO’s headquarters and a migrant charity; 80,000 youths joined a vigil - Adult baptisms in France have nearly tripled since 2016 to about 13,000, amid a long-term decline - Leo is the first pope in Lourdes since Benedict XVI in 2008; some 200,000 are expected over two days - On Sunday he meets privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse France regards itself as the home of laïcité, its stern brand of secularism. This weekend it staged one of the largest public acts of worship in its modern history. Pope Leo XIV’s four-day visit—his first to the country—brought a vast crowd to central Paris on Saturday before carrying him south to Lourdes, Catholicism’s most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary, for the tour’s more intimate and more delicate second act. Some 600,000 people had registered for the open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde; the Vatican estimated the true turnout at roughly 800,000. Around 2,400 priests and deacons and about 100 bishops concelebrated. As the popemobile came down the Champs-Élysées, crowds packed a security perimeter stretching nearly two miles past the Arc de Triomphe, metro stations along the route were closed, and chants of “Leo! Leo!” rang out; parents hoisted babies towards the pope, who reached out to touch dozens. Among them was Karine, a Parisian Maronite, who told Euronews she had come to “share this wonderful energy” and to “pray intensely for the Middle East”. In his homily Leo urged the faithful not to keep belief private but to let it be visible enough to comfort others. The Mass capped roughly 32 hours in the capital. On Friday the pope visited the newly restored Notre-Dame—the first papal visit since the 2019 fire—while the Vatican counted 300,000 cheering his passage and 80,000 young people filled a vigil at the Stade de France. On Saturday morning he called at Maison Bakhita, a diocesan association that shelters migrants, and [warned of the machines and of nuclear arms](https://rews.cc/a/pope-leo-tells-france-a-paradise-of-machines-risks-undermini-b25ef2) in an address at UNESCO’s headquarters. Emmanuel Macron attended none of the Masses and is expected at none; his wife Brigitte and the prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, were at the Concorde. Observers likened the throng to the celebrations after France’s World Cup wins of 1998 and 2018; organisers said many came simply to witness the event rather than as practising Catholics. The spectacle sits atop a decline. France baptised 513,000 people in 1980; in 2024 the figure was 186,000. Yet the pope, speaking at the Catholic Institute of Paris, dwelt on a counter-trend: adult baptisms have nearly tripled since 2016, reaching about 13,000 this year—a small but resilient flame, in his description, worth protecting. Total baptisms recorded in 2026 came to 21,386, more than three times the number a decade ago; over five years adult baptisms are up 28% and teenage ones 10%, with similar stirrings reported lately in Spain. On Saturday evening Leo landed at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport and opened his pilgrimage with a prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions, where Catholics believe the Virgin appeared to Bernadette Soubirous 18 times between February and July 1858. During the ninth apparition, believers say, the girl heard the instruction: “Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there.” The church recognised the apparitions in 1862 and built its shrine on the spot. Leo is the first pontiff to visit since Benedict XVI came in September 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary. Lourdes, home to just 13,000 people, draws about 3m pilgrims a year; its town hall calls it the fourth most-visited Catholic pilgrimage site on earth, after the Vatican, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and Aparecida in Brazil. The town keeps almost 10,000 hotel rooms and about 21,200 beds, which proved barely sufficient: some hotels were charging more than €2,000 a night. Authorities expect close to 200,000 people over the two days, of whom about 150,000 registered for the shrine’s celebrations. Sunday’s programme mixes pageantry with work. Leo will meet France’s bishops, celebrate Mass in the sanctuary’s Prairie and recite the Angelus, then visit staff and the sick at the Accueil Notre-Dame and sit privately with contemplative religious sisters. The visit closes with one of Lourdes’s signature rites, a rosary recitation and torchlight procession. The most watched appointment is unadvertised: a private meeting with seven survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other Catholic personnel. Some survivors’ groups have criticised the Vatican for receiving individuals rather than representatives of established advocacy organisations. The sensitivities are acute. In 2021 France’s independent commission on abuse in the church estimated that 216,000 minors had been abused by priests or members of religious orders between 1950 and 2020—a figure rising to about 330,000 once lay people working in church institutions were included. Rome will read 800,000 people at the Concorde as evidence that reports of French Catholicism’s death were exaggerated; demographers will note that baptisms remain barely a third of their 1980 level. Both may be right about the same crowd. By Sunday night the torches will have filed past the grotto and the visit will be over; whether the small flame the pope came to shelter still burns next September is a question for the registers, not the plaza. ## Sources - [Pope Leo arrives in Lourdes for second leg of France visit](https://euronews.com/2026/09/26/pope-leo-arrives-in-lourdes-for-second-leg-of-france-visit-after-historic-paris-crowds) — euronews.com - [Pope Leo XIV draws 600,000 to Mass in Paris](https://euronews.com/2026/09/26/pope-leo-xiv-draws-huge-crowds-in-paris-as-600000-await-mass) — euronews.com - [Lourdes: what to know about Pope Leo XIV's visit](https://euronews.com/2026/09/26/lourdes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pope-leo-xivs-visit) — euronews.com