Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass in Paris on Saturday before travelling to Lourdes for a pilgrimage. The Vatican estimated about 800,000 attended, above the 600,000 registered in advance; Leo began in Lourdes with silent prayer at the grotto.
In Paris, crowds lined a two-kilometre route from near the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde as the pope travelled by popemobile. The Lourdes grotto is associated with visions reported by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. On his first full day there, Leo walked barefoot part of the way to the sanctuary, greeted pilgrims and prayed in the basilica.
On Sunday, Leo is due to meet French bishops and celebrate another outdoor Mass at the sanctuary. He is also scheduled to meet sick people and seven survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and personnel, before a Rosary and torchlight procession.
