# 'A once-in-a-lifetime event': Faithful and curious flock to Pope Leo XIV's Mass in Paris

https://mins.news/en/item/75391

- France 24, 2026-09-26 16:24 UTC
- Culture
- Original: https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260926-a-once-in-a-lifetime-event-faithful-and-curious-flock-to-pope-leo-xiv-s-mass-in-paris

> An estimated 700,000 people gathered along Paris’s Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde on Saturday for Pope Leo XIV’s open-air Mass, the centerpiece of his first official visit to France. Scouts, nuns, families and curious spectators said they came to pray quietly or try to catch a glimpse of Canadian singer Céline Dion.

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- [Huge crowds greet Pope Leo XIV in Paris ahead of open-air Mass](https://mins.news/en/item/75216) — BBC News, 2026-09-26
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