600,000 sign up for Pope Leo’s Paris Mass as organizers expand route

The French bishops’ conference is still short more than 21 million euros to cover the cost of Pope Leoʼs Sept. 25–28 visit. Meanwhile, demand for the Paris Mass forced a major expansion of the route.

As France puts the finishing touches on preparations for Pope Leo XIVʼs visit, excitement is building across a nation that one French cardinal says is resisting secularization.

Nearly 600,000 people registered for the open-air papal Mass at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées before sign-ups closed on Sept. 16, according to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris. Registration was encouraged but not required. The huge response forced organizers to expand the security perimeter well beyond the original footprint.

“You responded in great numbers to the Holy Fatherʼs invitation to come and pray with him,” Ulrich said in a statement.

Demand built fast: When registration opened Aug. 10, more than 200,000 people signed up for the Paris Mass in the first few hours. All 80,000 places for the youth vigil at the Stade de France on Sept. 25 were claimed within hours. Nearly 300,000 registrations were recorded across both Paris events in the first 24 hours, according to Zenit.

Gen. Hervé Wattecamps, the general coordinator appointed by the Archdiocese of Paris, told French media that 8,000 new registrations were arriving daily in the final stretch.

The diocese has set up a gigantic overflow zone for people to gather, running from the Place de lʼÉtoile along Avenue de la Grande-Armée toward Porte Maillot.

The official papal visit site confirms the Mass is still scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sept. 26. The gates will open at 9 a.m., and Pope Leo is expected to arrive at the Champs-Élysées at 1:45 p.m. local time.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the bishops’ conference, told reporters that the level of interest showed France “resists secularization,” citing what he called a “new momentum of neophytes and catechumens.”

Passing the plate to pay the bill

The French bishops’ conference (CEF) has put the total cost of Pope Leoʼs Sept. 25–28 visit at 27 million euros (about $31 million), well above early estimates.

A national fundraising campaign was launched in summer and has raised 5.5 million euros so far, leaving a shortfall of 21.5 million euros. The bishops’ conference said the campaign will continue throughout the visit.

The French state is providing security forces and public services but no direct financial support or funding.

Instead, according to Vatican News, funding sources include corporate sponsorships, the sale of merchandise, and donations from the faithful through the bishops’ conference website pape-france.fr.

The funding model contrasts with the financing of World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul: South Koreaʼs Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism is leading a cross-agency government support task force alongside the Church-led local organizing committee. In France, prelates are passing the plate.

Beyond Paris, a European legacy

Outside the capital, the apostolic visit includes two stops: Lourdes and Metz.

In Lourdes, the pope will celebrate Mass at the Marian shrine on Sept. 27. He will also meet privately with seven survivors of abuse, according to Vatican News.

The visit closes Sept. 28 with a Mass in Metz, a historic town in Lorraine in northeastern France that changed hands between France and Germany through three wars and two annexations.

Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz told Vatican News: “The border is no longer a place of separation, but a place of encounter.”

Pope Leo will speak at the Robert Schuman Centre, named after the Catholic statesman Pope Francis declared venerable in 2021.