President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Pope Leo XIV at Orly Airport on Friday to begin a 4 day diplomatic tour of France. The pontiff's initial itinerary involves a visit to the Élysée Palace and a youth vigil at the Stade de France, with church bells ringing across the country to mark his arrival.

This is the first official state visit by a pope to the European nation in 18 years, since Benedict XVI visited in 2008. Along with a scheduled speech on artificial intelligence at UNESCO and stops in Lourdes and Metz, the Pope arrives as the local church navigates a new law on assisted dying and the aftermath of clerical sexual abuse.