Vatican estimates 700,000 attended Pope Leo’s Paris Mass

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass in central Paris on Saturday after a large crowd gathered along the Champs-Élysées and at Place de la Concorde. More than 600,000 people had registered to attend, and the Vatican estimated that about 700,000 were present, though the reports did not provide an independent final attendance count. Leo travelled along the avenue in an open-top popemobile, greeting people as crowds lined the route. The Mass was the biggest event of his four-day visit to France. Police closed nearby streets and imposed security measures around the gathering, while the event drew people beyond the Catholic community. Earlier Saturday, Leo met newly baptized Catholics at the Catholic Institute of Paris and urged the French Church to welcome and support converts. He acknowledged the rise in adult baptisms but cautioned against complacency and overly optimistic conclusions. His remarks came as church figures point to both recent signs of interest and longer-term declines in religious practice and affiliation. The number of adult baptisms in France has risen in recent years.