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Pope Leo XIV was met by hundreds of thousands of people along the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Friday as part of his four-day visit to France. More than half a million attendees are expected for an open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde, with French President Emmanuel Macron sending his wife and Prime Minister instead due to the country’s separation of church and state laws. The Pope praised organizations supporting refugees and warned about the risks of artificial intelligence during his visit.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pope Leo XIV drew 800,000 people to an open-air Mass in Paris, held at the iconic Place de la Concorde, on Saturday. The event was part of his four-day visit to France, aimed at promoting Catholic teachings amid a secular country. Despite sharp declines in church attendance over recent decades, the large turnout testified to the Church's enduring influence in France. However, the choice of Place de la Concorde as the venue for the Mass was criticized by supporters of France’s strict separation between church and state. As the Pope moved down the Champs-Élysées, cheering crowds waved Vatican flags and greeted him with chants like "Leo, Leo."
Written for “Pope Leo Paris Mass Crowd” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 36 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Hundreds of thousands of people have greeted Pope Leo XIV in the centre of Paris ahead of a giant open-air Mass.
Crowds cheered as the pontiff moved down the Champs-Élysées Avenue beneath the Arc de Triomphe, waving to crowds from his popemobile.
asserted
pontiff → publish → popemobile
The head of the Catholic Church blessed several babies as he stopped at different stages along the avenue as chants of "Leo, Leo" rang out.
asserted
chants → bless → Leo
More than half a million people are expected to attend the event in the heart of the French capital on Saturday and a special altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde for the ceremony.
asserted
altar → expect → ceremony
French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Leo for an hour of talks on Friday, will not be at any of the Pope's Masses during his four-day visit to France, largely to avoid breaching France's strict separation of state and religion.
But the Champs-Élysées Mass will be attended by Macron's wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
asserted
Mass → meet → wife
Several candidates for next year's presidential election are also expected to attend.
asserted
candidates → expect → election
Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally party and conservative Bruno Retailleau were both pictured at the Place de la Concorde ahead of the event, while centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal are also due to be there.
asserted
Philippe → picture → event
Mayor of Le Havre and former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and former Prime Minister Francois Fillon were both also seen at the Place de la Concorde.
asserted
Mayor → see → Concorde
Earlier on Saturday, the Pope met migrants as he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and praised the organisation for inviting "us to see those who are invisible".
asserted
who → meet → those
During the visit Leo said it was "possible to encounter one another and to live together in dignity and peace".
asserted
it → say → dignity
He also stressed the "the fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love".
asserted
He → stress → love
The Pope also issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his visit to France on Friday.
asserted
Pope → issue → Friday
Leo cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace.
asserted
Leo → caution → Palace
Large crowds are expected throughout the pontiff's trip, which the Church believes reflects a growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.
asserted
Church → expect → French
On Sunday, 150,000 have signed up to attend mass in the Pyrenean sanctuary of Lourdes.
asserted
150,000 → sign → Lourdes
The Pope will be in Metz, in northeast France, on Monday where he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is today a candidate for beatification.
asserted
who → pay → beatification
Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.
asserted
XIV → bear → 1955
His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894.
asserted
grandmother → bear → 1894
When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, which had been her mother's maiden name.
asserted
which → marry → name
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