Pope praises young people’s ‘energy and commitment’ at huge open-air Mass in Paris

Pope Leo XIV has praised the “enthusiasm, energy and commitment” young people bring to the Catholic Church as dense crowds attended an open-air Mass in Paris.

An estimated 700,000 people had gathered for the Mass celebrated by the Pope from a special altar on the Place de la Concorde, on the second day of his four-day visit to France.

It began after the pontiff rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue waving to crowds from his open-topped popemobile.

Many senior politicians attended the Mass. On Friday, the Pope met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During Saturday’s Mass, the Pope told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but “let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed”.

The leader of the Catholic Church also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as “today’s Church”.

“How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities,” he said.

After being welcomed by Macron on Friday, the Pope was joined by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

Macron did not attend Saturday’s event and will not be at any of the Pope’s Masses during his visit, largely to avoid appearing to breach France’s strict rules on the separation of Church and state.

But the Mass was attended by Macron’s wife Brigitte and French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

Several candidates for next year’s presidential election also attended.

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 Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal were also spotted.

Earlier on Saturday, the Pope met migrants and volunteers as he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and praised the organisation for inviting “us to see those who are invisible”.

He also stressed the “fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love”.

The Pope issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his visit to France on 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.

Large crowds are expected throughout the remainder of the pontiff’s trip, which the Church believes reflects a growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.

Late on Saturday the Pope flew to south-western town of Lourdes. He prayed at its famous sanctuary, where he will celebrate a Mass on Sunday which 150,000 people have signed up to attend.

The Pope will be in the north-eastern city of Metz on Monday to pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is a candidate for beatification – a formal recognition that a person is believed to have entered heaven.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 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.