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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
National
Alison Hird

Pope Leo enters France’s religious ‘laboratory’ amid hopes of a Catholic revival

A nun takes a picture of a banner welcoming Pope Leo to France, outside Saint Sulpice church in Paris on 23 September 2026.
A nun takes a picture of a banner welcoming Pope Leo to France, outside Saint Sulpice church in Paris on 23 September 2026. © REUTERS - Abdul Saboor

Pope Leo XIV begins his first visit to France on Friday, arriving in a country where Catholicism is no longer the dominant religion but where the Church is seeing signs of renewed interest among young people in particular. But analysts caution that rising adult baptisms and large crowds of young Catholics do not necessarily amount to a wider Catholic revival.

Even before Leo has set foot on French soil, his smiling face is appearing on newsstands.

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