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600000 Catholics expected at Pope Leo Paris Mass
BBC News··1d ago
Pope Leo XIV begins a four-day visit to France on Friday, with a Mass on the Place de la Concorde. Organisers expect about 600,000 faithful on the Champs-Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe. President Emmanuel Macron will greet the Pope at Orly and hold Élysée talks with him. Macron will not attend Masses, citing France's church-state separation.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Paris commuters face road closures around the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde during the papal Mass.
- Catholics who signed up for Lourdes or Stade de France events will pass through police cordons listed in the itinerary.
- Macron's separate palace talks mean policy watchers get an AI and geopolitics session apart from religious ceremonies.
What's Happening
- Pope Leo XIV starts a four-day France visit on Friday.
- About 600,000 faithful are expected on the Champs-Élysées Mass route.
- Macron greets the Pope at Orly and meets him at the Élysée Palace.
How France hosts a papal visit
- 80,000 young people are scheduled at the Stade de France on Friday evening.
- 150,000 signed up for Sunday mass in Lourdes.
- Macron will not attend Masses, citing laïcité rules.
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