It is possible to live together in dignity and peace — Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday it was possible to “live together in dignity and peace” as he met migrants in Paris, ahead of a giant open-air mass expected to gather hundreds of thousands of people on the iconic Champs-Élysées. The first US pontiff is visiting France on a four-day trip as the European nation gears up for elections next year to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron, with the anti-immigration far right eyeing its best chance at the top job.
On the second day of the first official papal visit to the European nation in 18 years, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will lead the faithful in prayer from 3:00 pm (1300 GMT). Around 600,000 people were expected to attend the event at Place de la Concorde and along the adjoining Champs-Élysées. President Emmanuel Macron will not attend the mass, but several presidential hopefuls, including far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Edouard Philippe, have confirmed their attendance.
Earlier Saturday, the pope visited Maison Bakhita, an association supporting migrants and refugees. “I am pleased to begin this second day in Paris with you, in a house that bears witness to the whole city that it is possible to encounter one another and to live together in dignity and peace,” he said.
He had been set to meet women and men of Christian and Muslim faith, from Algeria, Belarus, Iraq and the Ivory Coast, the association had said, calling it a “message” in the run-up to elections. “The pope is coming to tell the French that, whatever our political convictions, we share a common humanity and a right to dignity,” association president Valerie Moniod has told reporters. The pope has called the treatment of migrants in the United States “extremely disrespectful” and said, “we have to look for ways of treating people humanely.”
Leo’s visit to France has stirred enthusiasm and spiritual fervour among the faithful.
