Pope Leo XIV will meet survivors of clergy abuse during his four day visit to France next month. The Vatican confirmed the meeting as part of the pope’s trip from September 25 to 28.
The meeting will give abuse survivors a direct chance to speak with the pope. The Vatican said the survivors will also help prepare the meeting. It has not yet said where or when the meeting will take place.
The planned meeting comes as the Catholic Church faces long running concerns over sexual abuse and the handling of abuse claims. Pope Leo has made child safety a key part of his work since becoming pope.
Leo held a similar meeting during his recent visit to Spain. He met six survivors there. The meeting was part of a wider effort to hear from people who suffered abuse within the Church.
France has also faced a major reckoning over abuse in the Church. A 2021 report found that about 330,000 children may have been sexually abused by Church workers over a period of 70 years.
The pope has shown a clear interest in the issue. Last month, he appointed French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission. The move came as the Church continues efforts to improve child safety and support for survivors.
Pope Leo will begin his France trip in Paris on September 25. He is expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
The pope will also speak to French officials, civil society groups and diplomats. He will then give a speech at the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations agency for culture and education.
His first day will end with prayers at Notre-Dame Cathedral. He will also attend a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.
On the second day, Leo will focus on social inclusion and wider participation in Church life. He will visit the Maison Bakhita center, which supports people in need and helps with social integration.
The pope will also meet members of a synodal assembly. The group includes lay Catholics who take part in Church discussions. He is also expected to meet people who have recently joined the Catholic faith.
Later, Leo will travel to Lourdes, one of the best known Catholic pilgrimage sites in France. He will pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions.
He will also meet staff and sick people at the Accueil Notre-Dame. His Lourdes visit will end with the Rosary and a torchlight procession through the sanctuary.
The final part of the trip will take place in Metz, a city near the borders with Luxembourg and Germany. There, the pope will attend an interreligious meeting.
The event will take place at a conference center named after Robert Schuman. Schuman was a French statesman and a key figure in the early push for European unity. He was also a Catholic. The Church declared him venerable in 2021, a major step in the process toward possible sainthood.
The France trip was first confirmed in May. It will be Leo’s fourth international trip of the year.
Since becoming pope, Leo has already made several foreign visits. His travels have included a one day visit to Monaco in March, a tour of four African countries in April and a trip to Spain and the Canary Islands in June.
The Vatican has also confirmed that Leo will travel to Latin America in November. His planned stops include Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. He lived and worked in Peru for more than three decades before becoming pope.
The meeting with abuse survivors will be one of the most closely watched parts of his France visit. It will come as the Church continues to face pressure to listen to victims, improve child protection and address past failures.
The Vatican has not released details about the survivors who will attend. It has said, however, that they will take part in preparing the meeting. This signals an effort to give survivors a direct role in discussions about abuse and Church reform.
