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This video can not be played       Figure caption,  Watch: Huge crowds greeted the Pope as he travelled down the Champs-Élysées       By Jacob Phillips     Published 26 September 2026, 13:51 BST        Updated 2 hours ago       Pope Leo XIV has praised the "enthusiasm, energy and commitment" young people bring to the Catholic Church as dense crowds attended an open-air Mass in Paris.  An estimated 700,000 people had gathered for the Mass celebrated by the Pope from a special altar on the Place de la Concorde, on the second day of his four-day visit to France. It began after the pontiff rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue waving to crowds from his open-topped popemobile. Many senior politicians attended the Mass. On Friday, the Pope met French President Emmanuel Macron. During Saturday's Mass, the Pope told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but "let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed". The leader of the Catholic Church also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as "today's Church". "How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities," he said.      (Pope Leo smiles and holds his arm up in his popemobile. Crowds can be seen waving flags and gesturing towards the pope. Some are holding up their phones or cameras to take pictures)    Image source,  Reuters      After being welcomed by Macron on Friday, the Pope was joined by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris. Macron did not attend Saturday's event and will not be at any of the Pope's Masses during his visit, largely to avoid appearing to breach France's strict rules on the separation of Church and state. But the Mass was attended by Macron's wife Brigitte and French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Several candidates for next year's presidential election also attended. Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally party and conservative Bruno Retailleau were both pictured at the Place de la Concorde ahead of the event, while centrists Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal were also spotted.      (Brigitte Macron, Sebastien Lecornu and Gerard Larcher sit together and stare in different directions as they attend the outdoor mass in the centre of Paris.)    Image source,  Getty Images  Image caption,  Brigitte Macron, France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Senate's President Gerard Larcher were seen attending the Mass       Earlier on Saturday, the Pope met migrants and volunteers as he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and praised the organisation for inviting "us to see those who are invisible". He also stressed the "fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love". The Pope (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmq8j904212po) issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his visit to France on Friday. Leo cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace. Large crowds are expected throughout the remainder of the pontiff's trip, which the Church believes reflects a growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.     Image gallery (cm4gjjwvvlzro@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#storyboard-9-end-of-image-gallery) Skip image gallery   (The pope can be seen in the centre of his popemobile. Champs-Élysées Avenue stretches out behind him and the Arc de Triomphe can be seen in the background. Crowds can be seen on either side of the road as well as screens which have been put up using scaffolding.)       Image source,  EPA/Shutterstock  Image caption,  Dense crowds turned out to catch a glimpse of the Pope ahead of the Mass       (The pope waves to the crowd from his popemobile. A group of people all holding their phones up can be seen in front of him)       Image source,  EPA/Shutterstock  Image caption,  The pontiff greeted crowds as he moved along Champs-Élysées Avenue       (The pope leans over to look at a child being held up to him. He is in his popemobile and crowds can be seen around them. A number of police officers can bee seen nearby.)       Image source,  EPA/Shutterstock  Image caption,  The Pope blessed a number of young children as he travelled to the open-air mass       (Two women wear outfits which have Pope Leo's profile on them alongside a blue pattern. Both of them have big smiles and are standing on a street in Central Paris.)       Image source,  EPA/Shutterstock  Image caption,  People worse themed outfits, waved flags and held their babies up to be blessed during the procession       (The pope waves to crowds. He is wearing traditional dress including a mitre with a blue cross and leaves on it. He has matching robes which are yellow beneath his arms. His is holding a metal pole with a sculpture of Jesus on the cross at the top. Several people wearing white robes can be seen around the pope)       Image source,  Reuters  Image caption,  The Pope celebrated mass with around 700,000 people, the Vatican estimated       (A crowds watches as Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass on Place de la Concorde, with a young man in a yellow T-shirt with raised arms seen from the back in the foreground)       Image source,  EPA  Image caption,  The Pope described young people as "today's Christ"       1 of 6   Previous image     Next image     Slide1 of 6, The pope can be seen in the centre of his popemobile. Champs-Élysées Avenue stretches out behind him and the Arc de Triomphe can be seen in the background. Crowds can be seen on either side of the road as well as screens which have been put up using scaffolding., Dense crowds turned out to catch a glimpse of the Pope ahead of the Mass  End of image gallery     Late on Saturday the Pope flew to south-western town of Lourdes.  He prayed at its famous sanctuary, where he will celebrate a Mass on Sunday which 150,000 people have signed up to attend. The Pope will be in the north-eastern city of Metz on Monday to pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is a candidate for beatification - a formal recognition that a person is believed to have entered heaven. Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name. His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, which had been her mother's maiden name.      (Aerial map of central Paris showing where the Pope is due to hold mass in the Place de la Concorde

 on Saturday. The Élysée Palace and nearby landmarks are also labelled - the Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées and Paris city centre. An inset map of France highlights the capital’s location in the north of the country.)         Related topics  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c4ldl8zxrp8t) Catholicism           (vertical video collection) The video playlist   Watch our pick of standout clips from across the BBC      Previous     Next         1:03 Is Labour's housing scheme a new idea, or an old Tory one? 00:01:03, play video Is Labour's housing scheme a new idea, or an old Tory one?    (New build houses next to a feed in England)           1:27 Could Manchester City lose some of its trophies? 00:01:27, play video Could Manchester City lose some of its trophies?    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