Pope Leo XIV will visit France over the weekend, his fifth international trip since his papacy began.
The September 25-28 trip will include an address to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and numerous events at the Marian shrine in Lourdes.
The visit will have as its motto, “That the world may have life.”
On Friday, the first day of his trip, Leo will visit the UNESCO headquarters. 2027 will mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and UNESCO, which works to promote peace through science, education and culture.
The United States, Pope Leo’s home country, is scheduled to pull out of UNESCO at the end of this year.
Leo will be the second pope to visit UNESCO. In 1980, Pope John Paul II made a visit to the site, where he delivered an address emphasizing that “[r]espect for the inalienable rights of the human person is the foundation of everything.”
A statement from UNESCO said Pope Leo “will deliver a solemn address on artificial intelligence, youth, peace and interreligious dialogue.”
The Vatican press office has also listed artificial intelligence and peace as themes of the upcoming trip, along with other topics including poverty and the recent increase in French baptisms.
France has seen a sharp, nationwide spike in adult baptisms in recent years. Some 21,000 adults and adolescents were baptized at the Easter Vigil this year, compared to 5,800 four years ago.
The country has seen a decline in priestly ordinations – down from 122 four years ago to 84 this year. But it has also experienced a rise in new seminarians. Between 2023 and 2025, propaedeutic year entries rose from 99 to 145, a 47% increase in two years.
Pope Leo will meet catechumens and newly baptized Catholics in Paris on Saturday, before celebrating Mass at the Place de la Concorde and flying to Lourdes.
The pope will spend Saturday evening and all of Sunday at Lourdes. He will pray at the Massabielle grotto, where the Lourdes apparitions occurred.
He will celebrate Mass at the shrine and take place in a candlelit rosary procession.
He will also meet with the French bishops, a community of contemplative nuns, and residents and staff from a home for the elderly during his time at Lourdes.
The shrine at Lourdes has announced plans to cover mosaics at the site created by Fr. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of multiple counts of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse of dozens of women, including some instances of abuse that are alleged to have taken place as part of the creation process of his artwork.
The bishop of Lourdes recently told a French magazine that he was following Pope Leo’s guidance in ordering the mosaics at the site to be permanently covered.
Pope Leo will meet privately during his trip with abuse victims, according to the Vatican.
As is typical on state visits, the pope will meet with various groups of people during the trip, including civil authorities and diplomats, local clergy, and consecrated men and women.
He also will hold a prayer vigil with young people in the French national stadium.
On Monday, Pope Leo will attend an interreligious meeting, as well as a meeting on peace and unity in Europe, in the northeastern city of Metz, before returning to the Vatican.