Pope Leo XIV is set to celebrate a major public Mass at Place de la Concorde and along the adjoining Champs-Élysées in Paris on September 26 during his upcoming state visit to France.
The announcement was made on Friday by Laurent Ulrich.
The pontiff is expected to visit France from September 25 to 28, marking the first official state visit by a pope to the country in nearly two decades.
The Mass, scheduled for the early afternoon, is projected to draw approximately 500,000 worshippers.
A separate youth gathering has also been scheduled for September 25 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Ulrich explained that the choice of venues was intended to reflect both the significance of the visit and the enthusiasm of the French people in welcoming the pope.
“I wanted to welcome Pope Leo at venues and symbolic places in Paris and France,” the archbishop said, adding that the locations would demonstrate “the joy of an
