The French president will welcome Pope Leo XIV to France, but will not attend the liturgical celebrations. What’s behind this choice
He will receive Pope Leo XIV at the Elysée, Emmanuel Macron. He will accompany him to Metz. He will be present at institutional proceedings. The French president will, however, desert the masses scheduled during the Pontiff’s apostolic trip to France, from 25 to 28 September.
The decision was confirmed by Paris. Macron will not attend the celebration on Saturday 26 September in Piazza della Concordia and on the Champs-Élysées, awaited by over 200,000 registered faithful. In his place will be the prime minister Sébastien Lecornu. Brigitte MacronInstead, he will participate.
The previous controversies relating to the Pope and Macron
The comparison with September 2023 is inevitable. At that time, Macron he was present at the mass celebrated by the pope Francis at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille. That presence sparked controversy: in France, the participation of a head of state in a religious function is perceived by many as a flaw in republican secularism, one of the pillars of national identity. This time, the Elysée seems to have chosen not to repeat that experience.
There is, however, a political element that cannot be overlooked. A few months before the elections, the French president has no interest in offering pretexts for exploitation. Nor by those who would like to introduce Pope Leo XIV as a symbol of the most traditional Catholicism, nor by those who would intend to “flag it” for secularist battles.
Macron’s invitations to Pope Leo XIV which were rejected
What clearly emerges, beyond the apostolic journey and the relationship between the two protagonists, is a story in itself: the relations between France and the Vatican in the preparation of the visit have not always been linear. According to an investigation published by La Croixa historic French Catholic newspaper, Rome and Paris had different ideas on how to organize the Pope’s stay in the capital.
Macron he had asked to accompany personally Leo XIV to Notre-Dame to show him the restoration of the cathedral, which cost almost 900 million euros and was also financed by the state. The basilica, destroyed in the dramatic fire of 2019, was reopened on 8 December 2024, in the presence of numerous international leaders. However, the Vatican declined the invitation. Just as he rejected the proposal of a gala dinner with the president, preferring that the Pope eat his meals at the Apostolic Nunciature. The hypothesis of awarding the Pontiff the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest French honour, was also rejected. And military ceremonial was reduced to a minimum: nothing Garde republicaine in solemn form, no musical apparatus for special occasions.
In short, the line of the Holy See appears clear: this is a pastoral visit, not a state one. And the protocol choices reiterate this point by point.
How the Elysée tries to minimize signs of tension
Sources in the French presidency have ruled out that these changes reflect a deterioration in relations, describing the preparation as having taken place with “trust”, “serenity” and without “any tension”. A difficult read to support in its entirety, especially if you consider the sequence of rejected proposals.
The journey of Leo XIV to France it is the sixth apostolic trip of the pontificate and the first of a pope to Paris since 2008, when he went there Benedict XVI. Bergoglio he had never set foot in the French capital. The diplomatic stakes are therefore very high. But the tone chosen by the Vatican already has a lot to say about how Provost intends to move on the international level: with discretion, without allowing itself to be swallowed up by the logic of political power.
