Pope Leo XIV in Paris: No one ‘is merely a number’
PARIS — Pope Leo XIV told his congregation at an open-air Mass in Paris on Saturday that “none of us is merely a number or an entry in a register but a unique and irreplaceable person” in the eyes of God.
Local authorities estimated the size of the crowd at 800,000, the Vatican said.
Six young men with Down syndrome were among the many altar servers assisting Leo during the celebration Sept. 26.
Numerous families with children sprawled on picnic blankets, babies slept in strollers, and gray-haired women sat in camp chairs as they waited for Mass to start.
Some Catholics described waiting four to five hours to try to catch a glimpse of Leo as he drove nearly two miles down the Avenue of Champs-Élysées in the popemobile on his way from the Arche de Triomphe to the altar at the Place de la Concorde. Priests heard confessions on the sidewalk along the famous avenue.
A young family waits for Pope Leo XIV’s open-air Mass to begin on Sept. 26, 2026, in Paris. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
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