Venue at Place de la Concorde draws criticism from church-state supporters
Pope Leo celebrated an open-air mass before a Vatican-estimated crowd of 700,000 people at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on Saturday, the second day of his first official papal visit to France in 18 years. The Vatican put attendance at about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered in advance, according to The Guardian.
Before the mass, Pope Leo rode slowly down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in a popemobile. Crowds along the route chanted “Leo, Leo” and “Long live the pope,” waving French and Vatican flags. The 71-year-old American pope stopped frequently as babies were lifted from the crowd to receive a papal caress on their heads.
The Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and other figures were executed by guillotine during the French Revolution when the king’s Catholic rule was overthrown, now anchors France’s secular republic. The choice of venue drew criticism from supporters of the country’s strict legislation separating church and state in public life.
In his homily, Pope Leo thanked God for the chance to visit France and urged those present not to keep their faith to themselves. “Let it overflow, so that those you meet may be refreshed and their thirst satisfied,” he said, according to The Guardian. “From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France.”
The pope told Catholics that only their faith, and not material things, can provide true happiness. “Only God can fill the emptiness within us,” he said.
The security zone for the event — the largest of the papal tour — stretched about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers), shutting down road traffic in central Paris from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond, the newspaper reported. The city center was sealed off, with helicopters circling overhead and snipers positioned on rooftops.
About 14,500 police officers, gendarmes, military personnel and firefighters were deployed for the service, which was attended by 2,400 priests and deacons and about 100 bishops.
Marie-Élisabeth, a 44-year-old nun from Burgundy, told France 24: “This event is a way for us to say loud and proud that Christians are here.”
Sylvie Leclerc, a 51-year-old teacher, told Agence France-Presse: “You don’t hear much from us Catholics, but now we’re going to make some noise! … But to proclaim love, peace, joy.”
The four-day, three-city tour is intended to promote Catholicism and its teachings and is the pope’s first to France since his election.