Pope Leo XIV is in Lourdes on Sunday, September 27, continuing his historic visit to France with a major public Mass and a series of religious events. The Pope arrived in Lourdes on Saturday evening after spending two days in Paris. His visit to the famous Catholic shrine is one of the central parts of his four-day journey through France, which began on September 25 and will finish in Metz on September 28. The Sunday programme includes Mass at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and an evening prayer and torchlight procession.
The Pope’s arrival in Lourdes follows a large gathering in Paris on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people attended his open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde and along the Champs-Élysées. The Vatican estimated that around 700,000 people were present. The event became one of the largest public gatherings of the Pope’s visit and brought major crowds into the centre of the French capital.
Lourdes has a special place in Catholic life because millions of pilgrims travel there each year. The town is closely associated with the reported visions of the Virgin Mary experienced by Bernadette Soubirous in the 19th century. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has since become one of the world’s best-known Catholic pilgrimage sites.
Pope Leo’s Sunday programme is therefore different from his meetings in Paris. The Paris part of the journey included political meetings, cultural discussions, religious ceremonies and a large youth gathering. Lourdes gives the Pope a more direct religious setting, with prayer and worship forming the main part of the programme.
The Pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass on the Meadow of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes at 11am on September 27. Later in the evening, he is scheduled to take part in the recitation of the Holy Rosary and a torchlight procession. These events are expected to bring pilgrims and local Catholics together around the sanctuary.
The visit also carries a difficult social dimension for the Catholic Church in France. Pope Leo’s journey comes after years of public discussion about sexual abuse within French Catholic institutions. Survivors and advocacy groups have called for deeper reforms and stronger support for victims. The Pope’s visit to Lourdes is therefore being watched not only as a religious event but also as part of the Church’s wider effort to address its past.
The French Church has been preparing for the visit for months. Security arrangements, crowd management and transport planning have been required in both Paris and Lourdes. The large number of visitors means that local authorities have had to prepare roads, public spaces and access points around major events.
The Pope’s France visit is also wider than a religious tour. His programme includes discussions about Europe, peace, technology and social issues. In Paris, he met political and religious leaders and spoke about questions involving modern society. His comments on artificial intelligence were closely followed because the technology is becoming a major issue for governments, businesses and schools.
After the September 27 programme in Lourdes, Pope Leo is scheduled to travel to Metz on Monday, September 28. There he will take part in another Mass and complete the final stage of his French visit before returning to Rome.
For Lourdes, the Pope’s visit is also a major moment for the local community. The town depends heavily on religious tourism and pilgrimage activity. Large gatherings can bring significant visitor numbers to hotels, restaurants, shops and transport services.
Sunday’s events will therefore combine religion, tourism and public life. The main focus, however, will remain the Mass at the sanctuary and the evening prayer programme. Pope Leo’s time in Lourdes represents the second major stage of his first official visit to France and places one of Europe’s most important Catholic pilgrimage sites at the centre of international attention.
