Pope celebrates giant Paris mass in landmark visit

Pope Leo on Saturday celebrated an open-air mass in front of hundreds of thousands of faithful in Paris after riding in the Popemobile along the iconic Champs Elysees to the cheers of huge crowds clutching French and Vatican flags.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholic roots, on the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades.

In the highlight of the visit’s second day, the 71-year-old pope led believers in a mass at Place de la Concorde, where a giant white canopy had been erected to serve as a makeshift altar. Dozens of screens were installed to allow worshippers to follow the hour-and-a-half long service.

The trip stirred visible enthusiasm and spiritual fervour among the faithful. The pope’s prayers were accompanied by choir and organ music as the sun broke through the grey skies.