Vatican

Pope Leo has called on the Catholic Church in France to nurture the seeds of faith among its people, according to Vatican News. The appeal comes as the French Church continues to face declining congregations and the task of rebuilding trust, making the Pope's encouragement of renewed evangelisation and pastoral care a talking point among Catholics worldwide.

Pope Francis is preparing to visit Lourdes, the famous Marian shrine in southern France, which Vatican News describes as 'a special home of Mary' where he will pray for the world. Lourdes draws millions of pilgrims each year who come to the site of reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858, seeking healing and spiritual renewal. The visit underscores the shrine's continuing importance for Catholics worldwide.

Pope Leo celebrated an open-air Mass on the Place de la Concorde in Paris during his first official visit to the French capital, drawing around 700,000 people. The Vatican said attendance exceeded pre-registered numbers by roughly 100,000, underscoring the scale of public interest in the papal service.