Pope Leo XIV Ends 4-Day France Trip Urging Peace as 800,000 Gather in Paris
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 28
Pope Leo XIV Ends 4-Day France Trip Urging Peace as 800,000 Gather in Paris
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 28
Summary
Metz capped Pope Leo XIV’s four-day France trip with a forceful defense of international law and multilateralism, as he warned that rearmament is no answer and that God’s name must never justify violence.
Speaking near the French-German border in a venue honoring EU founder Robert Schuman, Leo praised European integration for tearing down walls and cast it as a model for peace in a renewed era of war.
800,000 people attended Leo’s outdoor Paris Mass on Saturday, while 80,000 youths filled a stadium the night before, underscoring his growing reach as both spiritual leader and diplomatic voice.
France also showcased his balancing act on divisive issues: he backed legal migration pathways and integration of newcomers, while criticizing surrogacy and France’s euthanasia law in notably measured terms.
The trip reinforced Leo’s emergence as a U.S.-born counterweight to nationalist and might-is-right politics, after earlier tensions with Donald Trump over migration, foreign policy and media access.