Leo XIV greets crowds on popemobile ride through Paris
Crowds cheered Pope Leo XIV as he began a popemobile tour in the heart of Paris, waving to well-wishers on his way to the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Authorities had expected around 250,000 people along the 2.5-kilometre route between Montparnasse and Place Saint-Michel, just a stone’s throw from Notre Dame.
He had earlier insisted in a speech that ‘authentic secularism’ should not exclude religion.
Pope Leo XIV waves to the Paris crowd from his popemobile. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)
“An authentic secularity … consists not in excluding religion from the public sphere or from education, but in striving to ensure that the state and religious institutions maintain dialogue and join forces in the service of the common good,” he said.
Politicians have in recent years invoked France’s brand of secularism to justify bans on religious symbols including Muslim women’s attire in public spaces and schools.
Pope Leo XIV in his popemobile, with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)
And the Pope urged France to remain a “tireless champion of peace” worldwide, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine drags into its fifth year.
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd while riding in the Papamobile (popemobile) through the streets of Paris on September 25, 2026 as part of his four days visit to France. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
“In the face of rumours of war and the varied crises troubling our world, France is called to remain a tireless champion of peace and multilateralism, particularly within our beloved Europe,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV arrives at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in his popemobile. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
