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France 24
France 24
National
Lara BULLENS

‘I hope France wakes up’: Young Catholics flood the streets for Pope Leo's Paris visit

Alexandra (L) and Laure D'Haussy (R) speak to Martin and Gabriel about Jesus during Pope Leo XIV's visit to Paris on September 25, 2026
Alexandra (L) and Laure D'Haussy (R) speak to Martin and Gabriel about Jesus during Pope Leo XIV's visit to Paris on September 25, 2026. © Lara Bullens

Armed with paper fortune-tellers and pop worship songs, young French Catholics from the Anuncio movement fanned out into the crowds awaiting Pope Leo XIV's arrival in Paris on Friday, hoping to bring strangers closer to God in one of Europe's most secular countries.

A group gathers around a table in the courtyard of the Church of Saint-Séverin, tucked away in Paris’s Latin Quarter just a stone’s throw from the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Cups of coffee, snacks and water are being handed out as Laure D’Haussy struggles to fold a paper fortune-teller.

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