Pope Leo XIV drew an estimated 800,000 people into the heart of Paris on Saturday for a massive open-air Mass, filling one of the French republic’s most storied public squares as he urged Catholics to openly share their faith in an "increasingly secularized society."Flag-waving crowds packed the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde as the American pope traveled roughly 1.2 miles through central Paris in the popemobile before celebrating Mass.The Vatican estimated attendance at 800,000, roughly 200,000 more people than had registered in advance.People of faith gathered in the streets, with families lifting babies and young children toward the popemobile as Leo made his way through the French capital.POPE LEO XIV RECEIVES 'SYMBOLIC’ SPHERE IN CHARITY'S PUSH FOR AI TO 'PROTECT HUMAN DIGNITY'Pope Leo XIV blesses a child and waves to the crowd from the popemobile as he rides down the Champs-Élysées Avenue on his way to the Place de la Concorde on Saturday in Paris.(Corbis via Getty Images)"Seeing you gathered here," Leo told worshippers, he was looking upon the "heirs of France’s long and beautiful history of faith," according to Vatican News.The pope called on French Catholics not to keep that rich inheritance to themselves.FROM DISNEY MAGIC TO ANCIENT FAITH: DAVID HENRIE ON WHY GEN Z IS FLOCKING TO CHURCHPope Leo XIV waves to the faithful as he arrives at Place de la Concorde to preside over Mass during his apostolic journey to France Saturday.
(Getty Images)"Let it overflow, so that those you meet may be refreshed and their thirst satisfied," Leo said."From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France."The setting carried particular resonance in a country known for its strict tradition of secularism.AMERICAN BISHOP ROBERT BARRON CALLS OUT ST.
PAUL'S CATHEDRAL IN UK OVER NIGHTCLUB PARTNERSHIPPope Leo XIV presides over a Mass at Place de la Concorde on Saturday, during the second day of...