Pope Leo XIV to visit France

Pope Leo XIV has set his first France trip for September, giving one of the clearest public markers yet of how his early calendar is taking shape. The Vatican press office said on May 16 that Leo will travel to France from Sept. 25 to 28, 2026, in response to invitations from France’s head of state, the country’s church authorities and UNESCO’s director-general. The trip will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters in Paris, according to the Holy See. The announcement came the same day the Vatican published Leo’s impromptu remarks to young people from Genoa, in which he warned that many drift away from parish life after confirmation. ### When is Pope Leo XIV going to France, and what has the Vatican actually confirmed? The Holy See press office said Leo will undertake an apostolic journey to France from Sept. 25 to 28, 2026. Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, said the visit was arranged after invitations from the French head of state, ecclesiastical authorities in the country and the director-general of UNESCO. (press.vatican.va) Vatican News said the September trip would be the first official papal state visit to France since Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Paris and Lourdes in 2008. The Vatican’s announcement did not publish a full itinerary beyond confirming a UNESCO stop. ### Why does UNESCO appear in the itinerary? (press.vatican.va) UNESCO was named directly in the Vatican announcement as one of the institutions whose invitation helped prompt the journey. The Holy See said Leo will visit the organization’s headquarters during the France trip. Paris-based UNESCO gives the visit a diplomatic stop as well as a pastoral one. (vaticannews.va) Vatican News linked the announcement to Leo’s April 10 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, noting that the two had met at the Vatican after Leo’s election. ### What did Leo say to the young people from Genoa? (press.vatican.va) On Saturday, May 16, Leo met confirmation candidates from the Archdiocese of Genoa at the Vatican and spoke without a prepared text, according to Vatican coverage cited by EWTN. He told them that “one of the greatest joys of a bishop is celebrating confirmations,” then turned to what he called a sad reality after the sacrament. (vaticannews.va) Leo said that, after confirmation, some young people are “never seen again” and “disappear from the parish,” according to EWTN’s account of the remarks. He urged the group to pay attention to perseverance, to return to parish life and to live the faith in community rather than alone. (ewtnnews.com) ### How does that youth message fit with the France announcement? May 16 put two different parts of Leo’s public role on display in the same Vatican news cycle: one local and pastoral, the other international and institutional. The Genoa audience focused on confirmation, parish life and perseverance; the France announcement set out a four-day foreign trip with a stop at UNESCO headquarters. (ewtnnews.com) The Vatican has not presented the two items as a single program. But both were published through official Holy See channels on the same date, as Leo continues to fill out the early months of his pontificate with audiences, speeches and travel planning. ### What should readers watch next? (press.vatican.va) Sept. 25 is the next fixed date in this story. The Vatican has confirmed the France trip’s dates and the UNESCO visit, but it has not yet released the full schedule, cities or list of public events. The Holy See’s calendar and press office bulletins are likely to carry the next formal updates, including any detailed itinerary for France and additional texts from Leo’s meetings with young Catholics. (press.vatican.va)