Pope Leo XIV emphasized the 'thirst for meaning, truth, and fulfillment that dwells in the heart of every person' during a mass held in the Place de la Concorde, in Paris, before approximately 700,000 attendees.
At the beginning of the day, hundreds of buses carrying pilgrims arrived in Lourdes, forming a long queue stretching for several kilometers. The pilgrims showed support and waved when Leo XIV arrived at his mobile papamobile before the mass celebration.
One of the most anticipated events of the day was the meeting, scheduled for late afternoon and held behind closed doors, with seven victims of sexual abuse committed by members of the Church in France. Leo XIV's statements on this delicate issue are highly awaited, as he had not yet commented on the matter since arriving in France on Friday.
It is relevant to note that five years ago, a report indicated that the number of minor victims of abuse in the French Church since 1950 was estimated at 330,000.
The leader of the Catholic Church arrived in Lourdes on Saturday night, coming from Paris. Immediately upon arrival, he prayed inside the Grotto of Apparitions, drank from the spring, and met with French bishops before the mass.
In Lourdes, the French Catholic sanctuary, known for its miraculous cures and which currently serves as a recovery center for survivors of clerical sexual abuse, Leo XIV made a statement against euthanasia and medically assisted death.
Throughout his four-day visit to France, Leo XIV has repeatedly defended renewed respect for life, aligned with the Catholic teaching that all human existence must be protected and defended from conception until natural death.
Lourdes gained prominence as a pilgrimage destination after the Catholic Church officially recognized the apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by a young woman in 1858. This site, located near the border with Spain, receives millions of pilgrims annually, especially those who are ill or disabled, seeking healing through the water of the spring in the grotto of Lourdes, where the apparitions took place.
According to data provided by the Vatican, in addition to the approximately 150,000 faithful present at the outdoor mass in Lourdes, more than one million people attended to meet the Pope in Paris and Saint-Denis on Friday and Saturday.