Pope Leo XIV is due to meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse on Sunday in Lourdes, bringing one of the most painful chapters in the Catholic Church’s history into the centre of his first official visit to France.
The private meeting comes a day after the Pope drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers to an open-air Mass in central Paris before travelling to Lourdes, one of the Catholic Church’s most important pilgrimage sites. Vatican News said about 150,000 people attended the Mass in Lourdes on Sunday.
The four-day visit, which began on September 25, is Pope Leo’s first official trip to France and includes stops in Paris, Saint-Denis, Lourdes and Metz.
A meeting with seven survivors
The Pope’s meeting with survivors has been closely watched by abuse victims and advocates.
The seven participants were selected by the French Bishops’ Conference and the Conference of Religious Men and Women in France after consultations with dozens of groups and individuals. Church officials said the limited number was intended to allow for a personal and meaningful conversation.
The meeting comes after a 2021 independent inquiry found that about 330,000 people had experienced sexual abuse as minors within the French Catholic Church and related institutions over a period of seven decades.
Survivors have continued to call for deeper reforms and stronger accountability. Some groups have also questioned the process used to select those who will meet the Pope, arguing that the seven do not necessarily represent the wider survivor community.
The meeting is therefore expected to carry significance beyond the private conversation itself, as the Church faces continuing demands for stronger safeguards and a more consistent response to abuse allegations.
From Paris to Lourdes
On Saturday, Pope Leo celebrated an open-air Mass in central Paris attended by an estimated 800,000 people, according to Vatican figures.
Worshippers filled the area around the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde as the Pope travelled through the French capital in the popemobile.
The gathering offered a striking display of Catholic devotion in a country where religious practice has declined and the state maintains a strong tradition of secularism.
Among those attending were Catholics who had travelled from across France and beyond.
The Pope later travelled to Lourdes, where he prayed at the Grotto of Massabielle. Catholic tradition holds that the Virgin Mary appeared there to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
Lourdes and a troubled past
Lourdes has long been associated with prayer, healing and pilgrimage. But the Pope’s visit has also brought attention to the Church’s continuing struggle with its record on sexual abuse.
The sanctuary has been connected to the broader debate over how the Church acknowledges victims and confronts allegations involving clergy and religious figures.
Pope Leo’s meeting with survivors is the first such encounter to be formally included in the programme of a papal visit, according to Vatican News. He had previously met abuse survivors during his visit to Spain earlier this year.
For survivors, the encounter is likely to be judged not only by the Pope’s willingness to listen but also by what follows.
The Church has introduced measures aimed at prevention, recognition and compensation, but survivor groups continue to press for further institutional changes.
Pope Leo is scheduled to continue his France visit in Lourdes before travelling to Metz, where his programme will focus on issues including peace and Europe.
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