Pope Leo XIV's Upcoming Paris Visit Set to Shine Light on Christian Communities in the Arab World

Pope Leo XIV is set to embark on a highly anticipated three-day visit to France, which will include prayers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a strong show of support for Christian communities in the Arab world, The National has been informed.

Marking his first trip to France since assuming his role last year, Pope Leo is scheduled to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, who will greet him upon arrival at the airport on Friday. Following this, Pope Leo will visit Unesco headquarters and travel through central Paris in the Popemobile before leading prayers at the recently renovated Notre-Dame, which underwent a five-year reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2019.

The reopening of the cathedral in December 2024 coincided with the unveiling of a chapel dedicated to Christian denominations in the Middle East and Asia, established at the request of the Archbishop of Paris. The chapel, one of 29 inside the cathedral, was redesigned by the Christian association L'Oeuvre d'Orient, which operates under the protection of the archbishop.

“We took advantage of the renovation to place icons inside – eight icons representing the various eastern churches – and, of course, it is open to visitors,” L'Oeuvre d'Orient director Monsignor Hugues de Woillemont told The National. These icons connect to historic cradles of Christianity, including Jerusalem, Baghdad, Armenia, Ethiopia, and India.

Monsignor Hugues de Woillemont noted that Pope Leo's visit to the chapel will be a significant moment, allowing the Pope to greet representatives of the eastern churches present in France. Highlighting the diminishing Christian population in the Middle East, Pope Leo previously chose Lebanon as his first destination abroad in December to show solidarity.

During his visit, Pope Leo is also expected to hold an open-air Mass on Saturday for 600,000 people on the Champs-Elysees and the Place de la Concorde in Paris, before traveling to Lourdes and later delivering a speech on world peace in Metz.