Pope Leo XIV departs on his Apostolic Journey to France
Pope Leo XIV departed Rome for a four-day Apostolic Journey to France, flying to Paris on Friday. The visit’s motto, “That the world may have life,” highlights the value of human life and spiritual life in France, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. In Paris, the Pope is scheduled to meet civil authorities, visit UNESCO, pray with clergy and young people, and celebrate Mass. The itinerary also includes prayer and meetings in Lourdes, followed by an interreligious encounter and Mass in Metz before his return to Rome on Monday.
3 days ago
Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to France on September 25, saying he was traveling to proclaim Christ’s peace. In his first address in Paris, he urged France to defend human life and dignity, value religious contributions within its secular framework, and pursue peace through dialogue and multilateralism. 1 2 3
Leo departed Rome’s Fiumicino Airport aboard an ITA Airways flight bound for Paris Orly. The visit’s motto is “That the world may have life”; Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said it refers both to welcoming and caring for human life from conception to natural death and to the growth of spiritual life in France. 1
Speaking to journalists on the plane, Leo described peace as a particularly important message for the present moment. He also apologized that a technical problem on his previous trip to Spain had prevented him from returning to Rome with the press and holding the usual flight-back conversation. 2
During exchanges with reporters, he said the Vatican was in dialogue with AI leaders about ensuring the technology serves people rather than displacing or harming humanity. He also spoke about the need to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ceuta and said prayer was his first response to natural disasters. 2
After arriving in Paris and meeting privately with President Emmanuel Macron, Leo addressed French authorities, civil society representatives and diplomats at the Élysée Palace. He praised France’s cultural and intellectual history, its Christian roots and the rebuilding of Notre-Dame, which he described as an example of cooperation bringing renewal after destruction. 3 5
Leo linked France’s motto—liberty, equality and fraternity—to ethical principles and the Gospel. He also argued that authentic laïcité need not exclude religion from public life, and said faith-informed public service and Catholic schools can contribute to education and the common good. 3 5
The Pope said that protecting the right to life is foundational to other human rights. He warned that science and technology could become profit-driven in areas including genetic manipulation, surrogacy, trade in human organs and arranging one’s own death, and urged respect and care for people at every stage of life. 3 4
He praised Catholic charitable work in France, including care for poor and vulnerable people, and invoked the legacy of St. Vincent de Paul. He cautioned that scientific or technological responses to suffering, without deeper moral guidance, could offer immediate relief while diverting people from a greater good. 3 4
The address came amid debate in France over end-of-life policy: the OSV report noted that lawmakers had voted in July to legalize assisted dying in certain cases and that abortion had been made a constitutional right in 2024. 4
Leo called for nuclear weapons to be banned and said peace should be built through dialogue and justice rather than a balance of power. He urged France to remain a champion of peace and multilateralism, particularly in Europe, and referred to the suffering caused by conflicts in the Middle East. 3 5
He also thanked France for supporting education and humanitarian work in the Middle East, including a fund that, according to his address, had supported more than 260 educational institutions since 2021. 3 5
The four-day program was set to include meetings and events in Paris, followed by a visit to Lourdes to pray at the Grotto associated with St. Bernadette, meet bishops and sick people, celebrate Mass and pray the Rosary. The journey was scheduled to conclude in Metz on September 28 with an interreligious encounter, a remembrance of the roots of the European Union and Mass, before Leo’s return to Rome. 1 4*
Christian principles and human dignity in secular public life
Christian engagement in secular public life does not mean imposing the faith by political power, nor retreating from public debate as though religion were merely private. It means serving the common good and defending the dignity of every person through reasoned argument, just laws, and lives marked by charity.
Catholics understand human dignity as inherent: it does not depend on a person’s usefulness, abilities, social status, or approval by the majority. Faith sees each person as created by God and, in Christ’s Incarnation, given profound dignity; human reason can also recognize that dignity and its claims in public life.
This gives Christians both a reason and a responsibility to participate in civic life. The US bishops identify respect for human life and dignity as central to Catholic social teaching and say it belongs in the public square. They call Catholics to promote the well-being of all, attend especially to the vulnerable, and let charity animate political activity.
That witness should be persuasive rather than coercive. Catholics can explain how their convictions bear on shared questions, including justice, law, and protection of life, while engaging fellow citizens through common reason. Political authority and majority preference do not create human dignity; public institutions are called to recognize and protect it.
Christians should also be alert to the way public language can be used inconsistently. “Dignity” is widely affirmed, but it may be invoked to support policies that conflict with the protection of vulnerable human life. The Catholic task is therefore not simply to appeal to the word, but to ask whether a policy respects the person throughout human life and promotes the common good.
Finally, public witness is more than argument or legislation. It includes the daily practice of justice, solidarity, and care for others. The Church’s theological account gives this work its deepest horizon—human life and society are ordered ultimately toward communion with God—while Christians can cooperate with people of different convictions for concrete goods shared in common.