Sawt Falasteen - Pope Leo to visit France September 25-28

The first pope from the United States, elected in May 2025, will notably travel to Paris for a visit to the headquarters of the United Nations' culture agency UNESCO, the Vatican said in a statement.

The visit will come after a trip to Spain in June, demonstrating the pope's interest in engaging with historically Catholic but increasingly secular European countries which had been largely overlooked by his predecessor, Francis.

It will be the first papal state visit to France since Benedict XVI went in September 2008.

While Francis visited France three times as pope -- to Strasbourg, Marseille and the island of Corsica -- those trips were not official state visits by the Holy See.

The president of the French Bishops' Conference (CEF), Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, had extended an invitation to Leo to visit France, one repeated by President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the pontiff at the Vatican in April.

"We are delighted that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has confirmed his visit to France. This visit next September will be an honour for our country, a source of joy for Catholics and a great moment of hope for everyone," Macron posted on X.

- 'Missionary zeal' -

A French speaker, Leo had expressed on various occasions "the great esteem in which he holds our country and her spiritual history", Aveline said earlier in May.

"It's a great joy, but also a great responsibility," the cardinal said on Saturday after the visit was confirmed.

"In the discussions I have had with the pope since his election, I quickly realised how keen he was on such a visit ... He is particularly interested in the life of the Church in France, its missionary zeal and also the challenges it faces," Aveline added.

It comes at a time when the Church has had to grapple with various splits on social, political, ethical and theological issues, with Leo seeking to mediate with both the progressive and traditionalist factions within Catholicism.

Besides the capital, the pontiff will also travel to Lourdes, a site of pilgrimage for Christians worldwide.

The southwestern French town's important Catholic shrine welcomed Jean-Paul II in 1983 and in 2004, as well as Benedict in 2008. Each time, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered to see the pope, according to the sanctuary.

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST