Pope Leo XIV in France: Orly arrival, Élysée talks and a youth vigil in Saint-Denis
France is bracing for one of the most watched church events of the decade. Pope Leo XIV lands on Friday, 25 September 2026 for a four-day apostolic journey — his first official trip to the country since his election — with stops spread across Paris, Saint-Denis, the Marian sanctuary of Lourdes and, finally, Metz.
Friday: touchdown at Orly and a marathon day in Paris
The papal aircraft is scheduled to arrive at Paris-Orly at 10:00. The moment the pontiff sets foot on the tarmac, church bells across France will ring out for seven full minutes, a symbolic gesture marking the historic scale of the visit. From there, the schedule moves straight into a tightly packed mix of institutional and pastoral engagements.
Diplomacy, institutions and a speech at UNESCO
- At the Élysée: a meeting with the President of the Republic, followed by an address to the diplomatic corps.
- At UNESCO: a highly anticipated speech at the organisation’s headquarters at 15:00.
- Across the capital: a papamobile ride from the church of Notre-Dame des Champs to Place Saint-Michel, ahead of vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
- With the young: in the evening, a large vigil at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis alongside more than 75,000 young people, during which the Holy Tunic of Argenteuil will be put on rare public display.
Saturday: the vulnerable, the synod and an open-air mass
On 26 September, the pope turns his attention to those often left on the margins. He will visit the Maison Bakhita in the 18th arrondissement to meet people in vulnerable situations, exchange with the synodal assembly at the Institut catholique de Paris, and then celebrate a solemn open-air mass between Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées.
Sunday at Lourdes: the Grotto, the Prairie and a torchlight procession
Late on Saturday evening, the pontiff boards a special Air France flight bound for Tarbes-Lourdes. The whole of Sunday, 27 September, is devoted to the Marian sanctuary: a moment of prayer at the Massabielle Grotto, a Sunday mass on the Prairie before more than 150,000 pilgrims, encounters with the sick, and the traditional torchlight procession.
Monday in Metz: ecumenism and a farewell mass before Rome
The journey comes to a close on Monday, 28 September in Lorraine. In Metz, Leo XIV will join an ecumenical gathering centred on “the roots of Europe, peace and unity”, before presiding over a final mass at Saint-Étienne Cathedral and returning to Rome in the early evening.
