Pope Leo attracts 700,000 worshipers to Paris Mass in historic France visit

Hundreds of thousands of people packed Paris' iconic Champs-Élysées Avenue for Pope Leo XIV' s big outdoor Mass on Saturday, a sign of the Catholic Church's enduring appeal in the once staunchly Catholic but officially secular country.

The Vatican estimated that 700,000 people came out for the Mass — more than the 600,000 who had registered in advance. The stunning turnout testified to the church's enduring influence in France, despite sharp declines in churchgoing in recent decades and secularizing trends that have emptied churches around Europe.