{"id":637329,"date":"2026-09-27T05:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T05:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/637329\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T05:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T05:46:14","slug":"pope-leo-celebrates-open-air-mass-before-700000-people-in-paris-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/637329\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo celebrates open-air Mass before 700,000 people in Paris \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es in \u2060Paris<\/a> on Saturday to attend an open-air Mass with Pope Leo<\/a> on the second day of his visit to France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Vatican<\/a> estimated 700,000 people turned out for the outdoor Mass with the 71-year-old American pope \u2013 about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered to attend.<\/p>\n

It took place at the Place de la Concorde, the site of bloody executions by guillotine during the French Revolution \u2013 when Louis XVI\u2019s staunchly Catholic rule was overthrown \u2013 and now the centre of the secular republic.<\/p>\n

The choice of the site, a symbol of the French republic to many, was criticised by supporters of France\u2019s strict legislation separating church and state in public life.<\/p>\n

But cheers rang out in the crowd as the pope thanked \u200cGod in his homily for the chance to \u200cvisit France on a whirlwind four-day, three-city tour to promote Catholicism and its teachings.<\/p>\n

\"PopePope Leo waves to the crowd from the popemobile. Photograph: Ludovic Marin\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

It is the first official papal visit to France in 18 years.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo asked those in the crowd not to keep their faith to themselves. \u201cLet it overflow, so that those you meet may be refreshed and their thirst satisfied,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told Catholics that only their faith, and not material things, can provide true happiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly God can fill the emptiness within us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"GiantGiant screens along the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es broadcasting the Mass. Photograph: Sameer Al-Doumy\/AFP via Getty Images \"TheThe Vatican estimated 700,000 people turned out for the outdoor Mass in central Paris. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The security zone for the event \u2013 the biggest of the papal tour \u2013 stretched about 2.2km, shutting down road traffic in central Paris from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.<\/p>\n

Chanting \u201cLeo, Leo\u201d and \u201cLong live the pope\u201d, crowds of people waved French and Vatican flags as the pontiff rode slowly down the grand boulevard of the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es aboard a popemobile \u2013 a specially designed, partly open vehicle used during public appearances.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Pope Leo\u2019s family secret: a birth in a mother and baby homeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He stopped frequently along the way as babies were lifted out of the crowd and brought to him to receive a papal caress on their heads. The city centre was sealed off for the service, with helicopters circling overhead and snipers positioned on rooftops.<\/p>\n

About 14,500 police officers, gendarmes, military personnel and firefighters were deployed to the event, which was attended by 2,400 priests and deacons, and about 100 bishops.<\/p>\n

Marie-\u00c9lisabeth, a 44-year-old nun from Burgundy, told a reporter for France 24: \u201cThis event is a way for us to say loud and proud that Christians are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Pope Leo condemns global leaders who disregard rule of lawOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters from Agence France-Presse, Sylvie Leclerc, a 51-year-old teacher, also said she and her fellow Christians want to share their fervour for their faith. \u201cYou don\u2019t hear much from us Catholics, but now we\u2019re going to make some noise!\u201d she said. \u201cBut to proclaim love, peace, joy.\u201d \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of thousands of people lined the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es in \u2060Paris on Saturday to attend an open-air Mass with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1814,42,43,1838,6318,40,38,41,39,6317],"class_list":["post-637329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-france","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-paris","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-vatican"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}