(OSV News) ─ Pope Leo XIV will make a four-day apostolic journey to France Sept. 25-28, with a program that stretches from the Élysée Palace and UNESCO in Paris to the Marian shrine of Lourdes and a final stop in Metz, and it will include a private meeting with victims of abuse in the Church, the Vatican has confirmed.
The Holy See Press Office released the detailed schedule Aug. 7, along with a statement to journalists saying, "During his upcoming Apostolic Journey to France, Pope Leo XIV will meet privately with several victims of abuse in the Church. The victims themselves will be involved in preparing for this event. Further details may be provided later."
The motto of the trip, "That the world may have life," can be clearly read through the prism of a recent vote made by French lawmakers to legalize “assisted dying," a move that French bishops called a “radical choice."
Paris: diplomacy, Notre Dame Cathedral and the young
The trip opens Sept. 25 with a state welcome at Paris Orly Airport and a courtesy visit to the president of the republic at the Élysée Palace, followed by a meeting with authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps.
For President Emmanuel Macron, the visit is marking his final months in office as he finishes his term in May 2027.
In the afternoon of Sept. 25, Pope Leo will visit the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
In the early evening, he will celebrate vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and seminarians at Notre Dame Cathedral -- the first papal visit to the restored cathedral since its reopening in December 2024 after the devastating 2019 fire.
Pope Francis was invited for the reopening of the cathedral, but did not come, instead creating new cardinals in Rome in what turned out to be his last consistory on Dec. 8, 2024.
Late that night, Pope Leo will lead a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Meeting catechumens and newly baptized in a country experiencing a Catholic boom
On Sept. 26, the pope will remain in Paris, visiting the Maison Bakhita, a center for social support and integration, and meeting members of a provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and newly baptized at the Institut Catholique de Paris.
The record numbers of adult and teenage baptisms during the Easter Vigils in the last years in France drew global attention. French secular media outlets reported on the event in every region, describing it as an "astonishing phenomenon."
Over 13,200 adults and over 8,100 adolescents were baptized during the April 4 Easter Vigil, according to an annual survey published by the French bishops' conference March 25.
With the number of Easter baptisms more than tripling over the past decade, Pope Leo comes to a land where a Catholic revival, especially among young people, is clearly visible.
"The Church in France feels more than a breeze in its sails," wrote historian Christophe Dickès, a specialist in contemporary Catholicism, in Le Figaro, referring to a "renewal of faith." Le Monde described "a transformation of Catholicism in France." "This apparent vitality reflects the evolution of a once-dominant religion toward a 'minority' and 'trendy' faith," it reported.
In the afternoon he will celebrate an open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde, offering a first papal Mass in the heart of the capital since Pope Benedict XVI gathered 260,000 people on the Esplanade des Invalides in central Paris in September 2008.
St. John Paul II celebrated the historic World Youth Day final Mass on Aug. 24, 1997, at the Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, drawing an estimated 1.2 million young pilgrims from 160 countries.
Lourdes: life, healing and hope
On the evening of Sept. 26, Pope Leo will fly to Lourdes, arriving at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport before going to the Massabielle grotto of the apparitions for prayer.
On Sept. 27 he will meet the bishops of the French episcopal conference and will concelebrate Sunday Mass on the meadow facing the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes told OSV News July 23 the visit to the Marian shrine will carry a strong message of "life, healing and hope," especially for the sick. "He will meet the realities of Lourdes, and sick people are among the most important of them," Bishop Micas said of the papal visit.
Asked how preparations are going and about the emotions in Lourdes ahead of the papal visit, Bishop Micas said, “It’s a very big emotion to welcome the pope here in the sanctuary of Lourdes. He will be the third pope welcomed here … and it’s really an honor, a pleasure, and a very, very, very, very big emotion.”
While there are "a lot of parameters to cross" ahead of the papal visit organized in just a few months, Bishop Micas said that "it's a lot of work, but many, many, many people are very, very happy to be involved in it."
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes can accommodate 170,000 pilgrims for the papal celebrations, Bishop Micas said.
The Lourdes shrine includes the grotto where St. Bernadette witnessed 18 Marian apparitions beginning on Feb. 11, 1858. People then witnessed physical and spiritual healing miracles after visiting the site, or drinking or washing in the spring Our Lady pointed Bernadette to in an apparition.
Through the years Lourdes also became a place of refuge for victims of clerical sexual abuse
"Lourdes is considered as a very important place by victims of sexual abuse … because with the Immaculate Conception, they can find consolation and maybe some cure," Bishop Micas told OSV News.
It was not confirmed when the program was released Aug. 7 whether the meeting of Pope Leo with victims of sexual abuse will be held in Paris or in Lourdes, with Bishop Micas confirming to OSV News both places are being considered for the encounter.
The official program in Lourdes includes a meeting with the staff and sick community of Notre Dame Accueil; a private encounter with contemplative religious sisters at the Carmelite monastery; and in the evening, praying of the rosary and a torchlight procession at the shrine.
Metz: Europe, peace and unity
On Sept. 28, the pope will depart Lourdes for Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport, where he will take part in an interreligious meeting and a gathering titled "To the roots of Europe for peace and unity" at the Robert Schuman Conference Center.
Schuman, a devout Catholic declared venerable in 2021, is regarded as a founding father of European integration, and Metz ─ near his tomb in Scy-Chazelles ─ has long symbolized Franco-German reconciliation after World War II.
On May 9, 1950, Schuman "made a visionary proposal by announcing the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community" ─ the website of the organization said ─ which France and Germany were to build together only five years after the war in which German atrocities were so horrific that reconciliation looked like mission impossible.
"This idea laid the foundation for the European integration we know today," the Schuman center said. "The goal was to ensure peace in Europe by promoting cooperation between nations rather than competition."
"He left a profound mark on history with his innovative and humanistic vision. His conviction that European unity was essential to guaranteeing peace and prosperity after centuries of conflict made him an iconic figure of the 20th century," the center emphasized.
In 2025, the year of Pope Leo's election, the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration was marked, and his visit to Metz is seen as a stop on the path to European unity with a continent divided by different visions on issues important for the papacy, such as migration and life issues.
Pope Leo will celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of St. Stephen before a farewell ceremony at the airport and return to Rome.
Logo and motto: 'That the world may have life'
The French bishops' conference and the Vatican also unveiled the official logo and motto for the visit: "That the world may have life" (John 6:51), a theme that will most likely frame the pope's message amid debates on assisted dying in the country.
"The logo for the Holy Father's Apostolic Journey to France depicts a circular stained-glass window, reminiscent of the rose windows found in Gothic cathedrals, symbolizing the beauty of the Church's communion and unity," the Vatican said Aug. 7.
"At the center, the pointed arch and the Cross express the apostolic and liturgical dimensions of the visit. The dove, which hovers at the center of the image, symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and carries an olive branch as a sign of peace for all humanity."
As France prepares to welcome Pope Leo for the first papal visit in 18 years, Church leaders asked for prayers as amid "logistical challenges and financial considerations, the visit of Pope Leo is "first and foremost a spiritual event," the bishops said on the official website of the apostolic journey.
"The bishops of France invite all the faithful to pray for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV on the Feast of the Assumption," on Aug. 15. "Let us entrust to the Lord this apostolic journey and the fruits it will bear for the Church and our country."
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Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @Guzik_Paulina
