Pope meets abuse survivors as French election campaign approaches

Pope Leo XIV met victims of clerical sexual abuse in Lourdes on Sunday during the third day of his official visit to France, where he has pledged to strengthen the Catholic Church’s reform efforts. The pope was expected to hold a private meeting with seven survivors. Among them was a former pupil of the Notre-Dame de Betharram institution, a nearby boarding school facing allegations of physical and sexual abuse over several decades.

A 2021 inquiry concluded that about 330,000 people had been abused as minors by clergy or lay members of the Church in France during a 70-year period. The meeting in Lourdes was therefore a significant part of Leo’s visit, which is the first official papal trip to France in nearly two decades. After arriving in Lourdes on Saturday evening, Leo prayed to the Virgin Mary for France to have “wise and generous leaders” who would serve the common good.

He also called for the country to support fundamental human rights and peace and to reject the mentality of war. The pope’s remarks came months before France’s presidential election, with immigration and the rise of the far right among the issues shaping the political debate. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Édouard Philippe were among political figures present at Leo’s Paris mass.

The 71-year-old pope led the mass at Place de la Concorde on Saturday. Vatican figures estimated that about 800,000 people had gathered along the Champs-Élysées and adjoining streets. President Emmanuel Macron did not attend but was represented by his wife, Brigitte.

Leo’s Lourdes visit follows earlier visits by Benedict XVI in 2008 and John Paul II in 1983 and 2004. The sanctuary attracts about three million pilgrims annually, and believers associate the site with miraculous healings.