Pope Leo XIV to Visit France for 4 Days in September, Including UNESCO Stop
Updated
Updated · Vatican News - English · May 16
Pope Leo XIV to Visit France for 4 Days in September, Including UNESCO Stop
6 articles · Updated · Vatican News - English · May 16
September 25-28 marks Pope Leo XIV’s planned Apostolic Journey to France, with the Vatican saying he will also visit UNESCO headquarters.
Invitations from France’s head of state, the country’s ecclesiastical authorities and UNESCO’s director-general prompted the trip, according to the Holy See press office.
The visit will be the first official papal trip to France since Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Paris and Lourdes in 2008.
Leo and President Emmanuel Macron met on April 10 after the pontiff’s election, extending a run of Vatican-France contacts that also included meetings in Marseille in 2023 and at the G7 and Ajaccio in 2024.
Can a Pope with French roots mend relations with Paris while challenging its controversial end-of-life law?
With Notre-Dame rebuilt and baptisms surging, will this visit signal a true Catholic renaissance in secular France?