Which spiritual and political issues will be the focus of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Catholic Church of France will welcome Pope Leo XIV from September 25 to 28 2026.

• The Pope will address young people at the Stade de France, thus following in the footsteps of his predecessor John Paul II in 1980.

• This trip will provide the Pope with an opportunity to speak on artificial intelligence, and pay tribute to social Catholicism and the legacy of Robert Schuman, a leading figure in European and Christian democracy.

Pope Leo XIV is due to visit France from September 25 to 28. The planned tour itinerary for the papal visit – which has been the subject of prior consultation – and the main topics expected to be discussed are significant from both a political and a religious standpoint.

This is an “apostolic journey”, not a “state visit”: it is first and foremost as the head of the Catholic Church, the successor to the Prince of the Apostles, that the Pope is coming to France to meet with members of the Catholic community. Admittedly, he is also a head of state – of Vatican City – and, as such, he will be received by French president Emmanuel Macron and several other political leaders : his visit therefore also has an official dimension.

Leo XIV’s interest in France may stem from his personal history, as his paternal grandmother was from Le Havre and his father took part in the landings in Normandy and Provence. Like all popes up to Benedict XVI, and unlike his predecessor Francis, he speaks French, one of the Vatican’s official languages, and had visited France even before his pontificate.

But broader considerations must also be taken into account. The timing is favourable, with a papal visit taking place well in advance of the campaign for the presidential election, as was the case with John Paul II’s first trip to France, in June 1980. This should make it possible, if not to prevent, then at least to limit attempts to exploit the visit for political gain, particularly by candidates hoping to win the Catholic vote.

Reaching out to young people of France

For Leo XIV, the youth debate is primarily religious. France was once regarded as “the Eldest Daughter of the Church’, according to a popular adage hailing back to the late 19th century. In this respect French Catholicism undoubtedly exerted a significant influence through its pastoral, liturgical and intellectual initiatives that were rolled out from the 1930s up until the 1960s. Admittedly, for over half a century, the Catholic Church has been experiencing a collapse, which Pope Francis implicitly criticised it for, considering Europe to be “a little weary” : this might explain his decision not to visit France as such, even though he had been there on three occasions (visiting Strasbourg, Marseille and Corsica).

But Pope Leo XIV sees things differently. On May 28 2025, three weeks after his election, he wrote to the bishops of France to mark the centenary of the canonisation of three of his compatriots, Jean Eudes, Thérèse of Lisieux and Jean-Marie Vianney, in the hope that this anniversary might inspire “a new missionary zeal”. This reflects the Pope’s view of the importance of France’s spiritual heritage.

Despite the difficulties facing the Church in France and the crisis triggered by the sexual abuse scandals, the threefold increase in the number of adult baptisms points to a relative resurgence of Catholicism since 2022. The reasons behind this development, which appears to run counter to the trend observed until then, and despite its limitations – the number of these adult baptisms does not offset the decline in the number of infant baptisms – are raising questions as far afield as Rome. The catechumens are mainly young people, aged between 18 and 40.

This section of the population remains a pastoral priority for the popes. John Paul II launched the World Youth Days (WYD) and, during his travels, would meet with young people, as he did in 1980 at the Parc des Princes stadium. Leo XIV is upholding this tradition by organising a vigil at the Stade de France, where 80,000 people are expected (50,000 congregated there in 1980).

Addressing the challenges of AI

The shrine at Lourdes is another symbol of the vitality and influence of Catholicism in France, even though visitor numbers to the spiritual destination are tending to fall slightly. The Pope visited the site while he was still a seminarian.

The Pope intends to honour this major place of pilgrimage by meeting with the sick – whose care is one of the sanctuary’s defining features – and with victims of sexual violence. With foreigners representing 60 % of visitors, Lourdes lies at the crossroads of the national and international dimensions that characterise the Pope’s journey.

The speech he will deliver at Unesco is primarily part of this global perspective. No Pope has spoken from this platform since John Paul II in 1980. Benedict XVI addressed ‘the world of culture’ at the Collège des Bernardins in 2008. Accepting an invitation from the Director-General of Unesco, Pope Leo XIV will speak there about the challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence, particularly in the fields of education, information and artistic creation.

This statement echoes his first and recent encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, “on the protection of the human person in the age of AI”. In this regard, the Pope and Unesco share the same cultural concerns.

Paying tribute to Robert Schuman, a leading figure of Europe and Christian democracy

The Pope’s stop in Metz, with its focus on Europe, is another aspect of the papal visit bearing an international dimension. Popes John Paul II, in 1988, and Francis, in 2014, had delivered speeches to MEPs in Strasbourg, within an institutional setting.

Pope Leo XIV opted for a symbolic visit to the Moselle Prefecture. This department, neighbouring Belgium and bordering two countries, was tossed back and forth between France and Germany from 1870 to 1945, through a series of wars, before being dubbed the “crossroads of Europe”.

But it is first and foremost to Robert Schuman that the Pope, who shares the same first name, intends to pay tribute. The politician, one of the “Fathers of Europe”, is buried in Scy-Chazelles, near Metz, where he lived for many years. A process for his beatification is underway, and Pope Francis has recognised him as “venerable”. A member of the Popular Republican Movement, Robert Schuman was associated with Christian democracy.

This movement stemmed from social Catholicism, which Leo XIII (1878–1903) promoted in his encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891). However, at that time, the Pope envisaged it solely as “beneficial Christian action amongst the people” (encyclical Graves de Communi, 1901). Having become a genuine political movement, Christian democracy has continued to draw on the principles of social Catholicism (subsidiarity, solidarity, participation), the legacy of which Pope Leo XIV, through his choice of name, embodies.

Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi came from this background, as did Schuman. It was they who began to build Europe with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The aim was to reconcile the former belligerents by drawing on shared interests. Peace is therefore at the heart of the European project.

Pope Leo XIV’s planned address at the Robert Schuman Centre, following an interfaith meeting, will, in fact, be entitled “At the roots of Europe for peace and unity”.

During the Pope’s visit to France, peace, Europe and the implications of AI for human dignity may well be the most political and international aspects of the trip, while developments in French Catholicism and youth issues bear more directly religious significance. However, these various aspects are complementary in the Holy See’s vision to encourage Catholics – and young people in particular – to become involved in building a world of peace and promoting human dignity.

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