At audience Sept. 30, Pope Leo discussed his recent apostolic visit to France
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV said that his journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering.
By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one’s neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience on Sept. 30.
As has been customary, Pope Leo used his first general audience after his Sept. 25-28 trip to Paris, Lourdes and Metz in France to speak about his experience.
The motto of the journey, “That the world may have life,” the pope said in English, “characterized the Gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit. For God alone, through His grace, can restore the Church and renew humanity, and it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring.”
The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, which was restored after a fire in 2019, “can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth,” he said in his main catechesis.
Rebuilt and “more splendid than ever,” the cathedral’s restoration “was a test of the possible collaboration between the Church, the state, public institutions and civil society,” Pope Leo said.
A tangible and visible sign of rebirth “appeared in a surprising way” during Mass on Sept. 26 in Place de la Concord. “Priests, the choir and a remarkable crowd extended all the way along the Avenue des Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.” An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets, according to the Vatican.
Turning to his visit to Lourdes, he said the shrine dedicated to Our Lady also represents “a message of hope and rebirth,” especially for those who are sick “in body and spirit.”
This was another message “that I wished to openly reaffirm: Every human life, in whatever condition, even in the most extreme frailty, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, accompanied and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the aid of the means offered by science,” he said.
Because Lourdes “represents for the entire world a sanctuary of the civilization of love,” he said this was context for his meeting with a group of people who had experienced abuse by members of the Church.
Lastly, visiting the city of Metz, he said, helped symbolize its role in the process of unifying Europe “as a project for peace in the wake of the destruction wrought by war.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, may the public witness of love for Jesus Christ that we have seen in France be an inspiration to the whole Church. Let us not hide our faith!” he told Portuguese-speaking pilgrims.
