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I have been following with great interest the news and social media posts on Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Visit to France. I must admit that I am following this particular journey more closely than usual because France has a special place in my heart.
I spent a year at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, studying and living with the French Dominican fathers. That experience brought me close to many French people and gave me friendships that have lasted through the years.
One of them is my dear friend Gilles Vermot Desroches. He was among those who alerted me to the excitement building up in France over the Pope’s visit. Just a few days ago, he sent me this message:
“Cher frère cardinal, cher Pablo, comme il me manque d’échanger avec toi! Viendras-tu à Paris avec le Pape Léon? J’avais beaucoup aimé ton interview dans ‘Le Cri’ il y a quelques mois… Je t’envoie cet article du Cri sur l’Église aux Philippines. Fraternellement, Gilles.”
In English: “Dear brother Cardinal, dear Pablo, how I miss our conversations! Will you be coming to Paris with Pope Leo? I really enjoyed your interview in Le Cri a few months ago… I am sending you this article from Le Cri about the Church in the Philippines. Fraternally, Gilles.” (Article attached)
(No, Gilles, I was not able to come to Paris with the Holy Father. But thanks to the many friends who have been posting photographs and videos, I feel that I have been following him almost from one place to another.)
What an extraordinary first day it has been. Pope Leo arrived in Paris yesterday and was received by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte. At the Élysée Palace he met the President privately and then addressed government authorities, representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps.
I was struck by the way he spoke to a highly secular society without sounding defensive about the Christian faith. He acknowledged France’s great republican ideals of liberté, égalité, fraternité, while pointing to the deeper human and spiritual values that can sustain them. He spoke of religious freedom and of a healthy laïcité that need not exclude religion from public life.
But he also spoke beyond France. He returned to a theme that is becoming characteristic of his pontificate: “unarmed and disarming peace.” He appealed for multilateralism and dialogue in a world increasingly tempted to resolve conflicts through force. He spoke against nuclear weapons and warned against allowing technological progress to lead humanity into what he called a “paradise of machines.”
From the Élysée, the Pope went to UNESCO. Here I thought his message became even more fundamental. He asked a question that lies beneath so many of the issues confronting humanity today: What does it mean to be human?
In an age fascinated by artificial intelligence, Pope Leo reminded his listeners that human intelligence cannot be measured simply by efficiency, productivity or the capacity to process information. Education must form persons, not merely produce skilled workers. Science and technology must serve the human person, not redefine the human person according to the standards of machines.
I found one line particularly beautiful: “Meaning is the oxygen of the mind.”
That is a message worth pondering in an age when we have access to more and more information but are not necessarily becoming wiser about what it means to live, to love, to suffer, and to be human.
Then came the images from Notre-Dame de Paris. The sight of Pope Leo praying Vespers inside that magnificent cathedral, restored after the devastating fire of 2019, was deeply moving. He was there with the bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians and consecrated men and women of France.
And the restored Notre-Dame itself became almost a parable for the Church.
A cathedral that seemed lost to the flames has risen again. And Pope Leo spoke of a Church likewise called to renewal—a Church of missionary conversion, encounter and welcome, especially toward people on the peripheries who may appear far from the Church but may actually be closer to Christ than we imagine.
At the same time, he reminded everyone that Notre-Dame cannot be reduced to a beautiful historical monument or tourist destination. A church has a soul, and that soul is its worshipping community gathered around Christ.
And then came perhaps the most surprising images of the day: the Stade de France filled with young people.
I watched clips of thousands upon thousands of young people singing, praying, cheering and chanting “Leo! Leo!” In a country so often described as one of the most secularized societies of Europe, the sight was extraordinary.
The Pope listened to their questions—about vocation, relationships with people of other religions, uncertainty about the future, war, climate change and the anxieties of their generation. His response was not to tell them to withdraw from the world, but to enter it more deeply as Christians. He called them to fraternity, service, commitment and peace. And he challenged them not to be afraid when Christ calls them to a vocation.
Perhaps these young people are telling us something about France that statistics about secularization do not tell us. The French Church has also been seeing a striking growth in adult baptisms in recent years. Around 13,000 adults were baptized this past Easter alone.
And now the visit enters another phase.
Today Pope Leo will visit Maison Bakhita, a center accompanying migrants and refugees. Then he will go to the Institut Catholique de Paris to meet members of a Provincial Synodal Assembly, catechumens and newly baptized Christians. I am particularly interested in this encounter because it brings together three realities that I believe belong together: synodality, evangelization and Christian initiation.
Later he will celebrate the great public Mass at the Place de la Concorde before leaving Paris for Lourdes, where his first act this evening will be to go directly to the Grotto of Massabielle and pray before Our Lady.
Tomorrow, Sunday, he will meet the bishops of France and celebrate Mass with the pilgrims at Lourdes. He will spend time with the sick and those who care for them, meet contemplative religious sisters, and in the evening join the beautiful Rosary and torchlight procession for which Lourdes is known.
Then on Monday he travels to Metz, near the borders with Germany and Luxembourg—a particularly meaningful place from which to speak about the future of Europe. There he will take part in an interreligious encounter and address a gathering entitled “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.” He will conclude his visit with Mass at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne before returning to Rome.
So far, what impresses me most is how rapidly Pope Leo is finding his voice on the global stage.
The themes are becoming clearer: human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence; fraternity in increasingly polarized societies; care for migrants and the poor; dialogue among religions and cultures; the renewal of the Church through mission and synodality; and, running through almost everything, his persistent call for an “unarmed and disarming peace.”
From the Élysée to UNESCO, from Notre-Dame to the Stade de France, and now onward to migrants, catechumens, Lourdes and finally Europe itself in Metz, there seems to be a coherent message unfolding.
I will continue following this journey closely until it concludes on Monday. I have a feeling we have not yet heard the most important things Pope Leo has come to France to say.
