Pope Leo XIV toured the Champs-Elysees in the “popemobile” on Saturday and celebrated an open-air Mass in front of hundreds of thousands of people in Paris, before flying to the holy pilgrimage site of Lourdes in southern France. The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day trip to France, an officially secular country with deep Catholic roots, in the first official papal visit there in nearly two decades. At the climax of the second day of the visit, the 71-year-old pope led believers in a mass in the Place de la Concorde, where a giant white canopy had been erected to serve as a makeshift altar. “It is truly good and pleasant when brothers and sisters come together and glorify the greatness of God,” said Pope Leo, dressed in white liturgical vestments. Read more ‘A once-in-a-lifetime event’: Faithful and curious flock to Pope Leo The city center was closed for service, with helicopters hovering overhead and snipers posted on rooftops. “It’s once in history to see the Pope,” said Aline Riziki, 41, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has lived in France for 11 years. “I left everything to come here and see it, to pray for peace in the east” of his homeland, ravaged by conflict for decades, he said. Pope Leo years, which was perched on his shoulders. “We’re happy that, even though she doesn’t remember it, we’re sharing this with her,” he said, a small gold cross dangling from his sweater. “For us it is an important moment to be surrounded by other people who also have faith.” The first American pontiff visited France seven months before voters choose a successor to center-right President Emmanuel Macron, as the anti-immigration far right contemplated its best chance yet to capture the presidency. Pope Leo celebrates an open-air Mass in the Place de la Concorde in Paris as part of his four-day apostolic trip to France on September 26, 2026. © Sarah Meyssonnier, Reuters Several presidential hopefuls were present, including far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Edouard Philippe. The president himself did not attend the mass, but was represented by his wife Brigitte. On Sunday, Leo will speak with seven victims of clerical sexual abuse. A 2021 investigation found that clerics or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people when they were minors in France, over seven decades. ‘Rejecting the war mentality’ Earlier in the day, the Pope met with migrants at Maison Bakhita, a refugee support association. Leo stated that it is “possible to meet and live together in dignity and peace.” He also highlighted the “fundamental role of women in building a civilization of love.” The association said the pope’s visit sent a “message” ahead of the April-May elections. Pope Leo “There is a feeling of fervor reminiscent of that experienced more than 40 years ago with John Paul II,” François Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, told radio station RMC. Later on Saturday, Pope Leo flew to Lourdes, a pilgrimage city to the southwest, where he landed in the early afternoon. The pontiff prayed in the Grotto of Massabielle, where Catholic tradition holds that the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858 to a peasant woman, later Saint Bernadette. Pope Leo XIV leads a prayer with faithful in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, southwestern France, on September 26, 2026, on the second day of his visit to France. Shows the statue of the Virgin Mary. © Alberto Pizzoli, AFP The American-born Pope prayed to the Virgin Mary to “obtain for France wise and generous leaders… eager to serve the common good.” “Let them make their (France’s) voice heard in promoting the defense of fundamental human rights and peace in the world, rejecting once and for all the mentality of war.” Pope Leo then performed the rituals observed by the many pilgrims to the cave: touching the rock, lighting a candle, and drinking spring water. Leo was the third pope to visit Lourdes after Benedict XVI in 2008 and John Paul II in 1983 and 2004. The sanctuary, one of the most important Catholic holy sites in the world, welcomes some three million pilgrims each year. Catholics attribute miraculous cures to him. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)