Pope Leo XIV is encouraging French Catholics to persevere in their faith PARIS -- PARIS (AP) — Pope Leo XIV encouraged French Catholics on Saturday to persevere in their faith “even amid the thorns” of a secular world, rallying the faithful ahead of a huge Mass at the iconic Place de la Concorde that shut down central Paris. Leo opened his second day in France by meeting with young converts, whose decision to join the Catholic Church has sparked optimism in the French hierarchy even amid an overall downward spiral of the practicing faithful in the once staunchly Catholic but now deeply secular country. The church's enduring influence in France has been visible with the throngs filling Paris avenues to see Leo's motorcade pass by.
On Friday night, some 80,000 young people filled the national stadium north of the French capital for a vigil extravaganza of fireworks and a theatrical retelling of French Catholic history. Leo has clearly been impressed by their numbers and enthusiasm, especially at the vigil that kept the 71-year-old pope out until nearly 11 p.m. after a packed first day. Thank you for your presence,” Leo told the crowd, speaking off the cuff in French.
You are the saints of France!” he said to raucous cheers. Leo sought to encourage those who have opted in during a meeting Saturday with a group of newly baptized faithful at the Catholic Institute of Paris. After hearing from some converts, the American pope said he was surprised by their numbers and grateful for what he said was God’s “unfathomable work” to counter all statistical and sociological analysis.
The number of adult baptisms in France each year has tripled since 2016, hitting 13,000 this year. The numbers suggest a newfound interest in the church from young people who either left the faith and came back or were never raised in it to begin with. But statistics and experts caution that the slight uptick in new faithful, which has been recorded also in secular Spain, doesn’t counteract the overall generational trend of children of practicing French Catholics no longer going to Mass or baptizing their babies.
In 1980, there were 513,000 baptisms in France; in 2024, a total of 186,000. While welcoming the slight uptick among new adult converts, Leo warned French bishops not to become overly optimistic, and to work to accompany these new Catholics and integrate them into their church communities. The number of French priests has cratered in recent decades, from nearly 39,000 in 1980 to nearly 12,600 in 2024.
The number of French Catholics getting married in the church fell from nearly 217,500 in 1980 to nearly 40,680 in 2024, according to Vatican statistics. But French bishops see reason for hope. Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre, on Paris’ outskirts, said the number of new adult baptisms signaled that “something powerful is happening within the church in France.” “Catholics are happy to see their faith rekindled,” he said.
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