Pope encourages Catholics in deeply secular France to persevere as Paris shuts down for huge Mass

PARIS — Pope Leo XIV encouraged French Catholics on Saturday to persevere in their faith “even amid the thorns” of a secular world, rallying the faithful ahead of a huge Mass at the iconic Place de la Concorde that shut down central Paris.

Leo opened his second day in France by meeting with young converts, whose decision to join the Catholic Church has sparked optimism in the French hierarchy even amid an overall downward spiral of the practicing faithful in the once staunchly Catholic but now deeply secular country.

The church’s enduring influence in France has been visible with the throngs filling Paris avenues to see Leo’s motorcade pass by. On Friday night, some 80,000 young people filled the national stadium north of the French capital for a vigil extravaganza of fireworks and a theatrical retelling of French Catholic history.

Leo has clearly been impressed by their numbers and enthusiasm, especially at the vigil that kept the 71-year-old pope out until nearly 11 p.m. after a packed first day.

“Thank you for your courage! Thank you for your presence,” Leo told the crowd, speaking off the cuff in French. “Thank you for your faith. You are the saints of