Instead of asking for a photo, six young men with Down syndrome asked Pope Leo XIV for a job — and brought years of parish experience to Place de la Concorde.
As hundreds of thousands of voices fell silent across Place de la Concorde in Paris on Sept. 26 for the start of Mass with Pope Leo XIV, 22-year-old Maxime took his place near the altar, completely in his element. To anyone watching, he was simply a confident altar server handling his duties, but to those who know him best, he is the self-proclaimed “altar boy manager,” a title he takes to heart.
Maxime was one of six young men with Down syndrome who served alongside Pope Leo during his apostolic trip to France, together bringing years of local parish experience to the grandest stage of their lives.
Connected through the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, Maxime, Théophile, 11; François, 28; Foucauld, Timothée and Jérôme didn’t ask for a special audience or a photo op with the Pontiff. They asked to do what they already knew how to do: put on their albs and work the altar.
All six young men were so excited to take part in the papal trip in
