The 71 year old pontiff arrived in Paris on Friday for a four day tour intended to foster global peace and rebuild trust in the Catholic Church following abuse scandals. Pope Leo XIV's trip is the first official Vatican state visit to France in 18 years, with more than 1 million people expected to attend events throughout the city during the first two days of the mission.

The Pope's agenda includes a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, a speech on artificial intelligence at UNESCO, and visits to the Notre-Dame Cathedral and Lourdes. This visit occurs as the French church navigates a newly enacted assisted dying law, while the Washington Post reports that a sudden surge of converts has turned the secular nation into a laboratory for reviving the faith in the West.