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Pope Leo draws 800,000 to Mass in the heart of Paris

by Courtney Mares, OSV News September 26, 2026

Pope Leo XIV walks to celebrate an open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, as part of his four-day apostolic journey to France on Sept. 26, 2026. Credit: OSV News photo/Sarah Meyssonnier, Reuters.

PARIS (OSV News) — Close to 800,000 people lined Paris’ Champs Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde for Mass Sept. 26 with Pope Leo XIV, who urged the people of France to follow Jesus to the source of true happiness and peace.

“Seeing you gathered here, my brothers and sisters, heirs to France’s long and beautiful history of faith, I say to you: drink from the source that is the pierced heart of Jesus. Yes, you thirst for God, for life, for truth, for unity, for peace, for communion and for happiness,” the pope said in his homily.

People waved flags and joyfully sang hymns as Pope Leo arrived in the popemobile in the Place de la Concorde, the largest public square in the city of Paris.

Abuse victims say Pope Leo was 'sincere' during high-stakes France meeting

 

Abuse victims say Pope Leo was 'sincere' during high-stakes France meeting

Vatican

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  Justin McLellan

Vatican Dispatch Vatican Notebook: Pope Leo addresses French conversion boom, warns against complacency

 

Vatican Dispatch

Vatican Notebook: Pope Leo addresses French conversion boom, warns against complacency

by Colleen Dulle September 26, 2026

Pope Leo XIV meets with youth at the Maison Bakhita support and social integration center on the second day of his visit to France on Sept. 26, 2026. Credit: OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media.

Pope Leo XIV seemed to hit his stride today in his high-profile visit to France, visiting a welcome center for migrants and survivors of human trafficking before speaking to a group of catechumens, new Catholics and members of a synodal assembly tasked with responding to France’s 400 percent jump in baptisms since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The children on the border are speaking. Are we listening?

 

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  Bishop Mark J. Seitz
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  Dylan Corbett

The children on the border are speaking. Are we listening?

Guest Voices  ncr

Drawing huge crowds in Paris, Pope Leo urges France to embrace its Catholic heritage

 

Vatican News

Vatican

Drawing huge crowds in Paris, Pope Leo urges France to embrace its Catholic heritage

Justin McLellan   ncr

THE WOUNDS OF CATHOLIC WOMEN

 

THE WOUNDS OF CATHOLIC WOMEN

Keeping silent about this power imbalance in the church is not just dangerous for women. It creates a culture in which we become less inclined to notice or speak up when we see injustice in other contexts—with the poor, with migrants, with people suffering from war or structural violence. These issues are inseparable. READ MORE...

A FULL VOICED CHURCH NEEDS WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP

 

A FULL VOICED CHURCH NEEDS WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP

The synodal journey the Church is undertaking acts as a mirror that reflects back to us a forgotten truth: ecclesial identity does not lie in hierarchy, but in being the People of God. In this ecclesiological model, women and men share the same baptismal dignity, without distinction.  READ MORE...

Posted inNews

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen declared ‘Blessed’ at beatification Mass in St. Louis

by Gina Christian - Catholic News Service September 25, 2026

Clergy process at the start of the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis. Credit: OSV News photo/Bob Roller

ST. LOUIS (OSV News) — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen — the 20th-century theologian, evangelizer, Catholic communications pioneer, teacher and preacher — is now Blessed Fulton J. Sheen.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a pro-prefect for the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization and papal delegate, pronounced the Church’s declaration on Archbishop Sheen’s holiness of life and witness to Jesus Christ at a Sept. 24 Mass celebrated in The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

To the applause of pilgrims, Cardinal Tagle described Archbishop Sheen as a “son of Illinois, son of the United States of America” and “indeed, son of the world.”