Pope Leo rallies hundreds of thousands in Paris and warns on AI

Hundreds of thousands of people filled a two-kilometer stretch of the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Saturday for an open-air Mass led by Pope Leo XIV, the largest event of the pontiff's visit to France. According to Reuters reporting, more than six hundred thousand people had registered for the Mass in advance, with the Vatican estimating about seven hundred thousand. Crowds began gathering before sunrise, waving white-and-yellow Vatican flags and pressing against security barriers as the 71-year-old pontiff passed in an open-top popemobile. The vehicle stopped frequently along the route so the pope could bless babies, children and people with disabilities who were passed forward by volunteers.

Crowds fill the Champs-Élysées

Chants of "Leo, Leo" and "Long live the Pope" echoed along the tree-lined boulevard as the American pontiff made his way from the Arc de Triomphe toward the Place de la Concorde. The location carried its own history: the square holds a 3,300-year-old pink granite Egyptian obelisk, and it was the site of major executions during the French Revolution. As grey skies parted, choir and organ music accompanied the service, which was broadcast over large speakers to crowds packed along the avenue. Pope Leo, dressed in white garments embellished with olive branches, told the assembly: "It is truly good and pleasant when brothers and sisters come together and glorify the greatness of God."

French President Emmanuel Macron did not attend the Mass, a decision the Élysée framed as adherence to France's 1905 law separating church and state. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Brigitte Macron were present, as were several candidates for upcoming presidential elections, including Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party, conservative Bruno Retailleau, and centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal. Macron had held an hour of talks with the pope at the Élysée on Friday after Leo arrived at Orly airport at the start of his first papal journey to France, which takes in three cities over four days.

Those in the crowd gave different reasons for coming. Leontine Joseph, a 42-year-old Catholic who attended with friends of Moroccan origin, noted that the pontiff's focus on social justice extends well beyond church membership. Pierre-Marie Estienne, a 36-year-old Parisian who attended with his wife and four young children, told reporters that people sought hope in a materialist age, saying they needed "a message of hope and love." Géraldine Pambu said she hoped the pope would continue speaking out for global peace, adding: "There are too many wars."

A warning on the United Nations

Before the Mass, the pope had used a packed Paris itinerary to address international diplomacy and modern technology. In a Friday address at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, he warned that the United Nations and other multilateral organizations face a profound institutional crisis, according to OSV News, which covers the Vatican through Catholic News Service. In his homily on the Champs-Élysées, he returned to the search for meaning in contemporary life, telling the crowd: "You long to rediscover a horizon filled with light and to build a renewed nation upon roots nourished by faith." He added: "You are called to bring hope wherever discouragement and spiritual dryness prevail."

Addressing UNESCO, the pontiff said: "Human beings cannot live without meaning. Meaning is the oxygen of the mind," as reported by OSV News. The remark framed his broader argument that technological and institutional progress cannot replace a shared moral horizon. The trip also included a prayer at the newly restored Notre Dame cathedral, which reopened after the devastating 2019 fire.

An appeal on artificial intelligence

The pope renewed his call for a rethink of how artificial intelligence is developed, warning French leaders that unchecked digital expansion could usher in a future in which a "paradise of machines" takes control of the Earth. The phrase echoed an appeal he has made repeatedly in recent months, condemning the course of global leadership and urging protection for human life and dignity. He put it directly before the government of one of the continent's major technology powers.

Leo is the first American pontiff and leads the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. His Paris remarks extended that theme into concrete policy terrain: urging governments to steer the technology rather than accept whatever it produces. The appeal was woven through a speech that also touched on nuclear armament and the protection of life in debates over abortion and France's recently passed assisted-suicide rules.

Secular France and new Catholics

The visit also confronted the complex religious landscape of France, a country where the separation of church and state is legally enshrined and Catholic affiliation has declined steadily since the Second World War. A report from the official statistics agency INSEE found that just 25 percent of French people aged 18 to 49 described themselves as Catholic, down from 43 percent a decade earlier. Yet the French Bishops' Conference has highlighted a rise in adult baptisms, including a record 21,000 the previous Easter.

On Saturday, Pope Leo met recently baptized Catholics at the Catholic University of Paris and urged the French Church not to be "naively optimistic" about the growing numbers. He told clergy and the newly baptized that they needed to protect the small flame of faith in an increasingly secular society. The pontiff is later due to visit Lourdes, where a meeting with seven French survivors of clergy abuse is scheduled for Sunday. The visit unfolded under a major security operation, with French police deploying thousands of officers and enforcing road closures across central Paris.

Source: World Today Journal, citing Reuters; background from OSV News / Catholic News Service.