By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 22, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Pope Leo XIV is set to meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day visit to France, underscoring a commitment to addressing the church’s past failings. The trip, announced by the Vatican, will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes, and an interreligious gathering in Metz. The timing and location of the meeting with abuse survivors will be disclosed later, with the Vatican emphasizing that the survivors will be involved in planning the encounter.
This initiative follows Pope Leo’s recent engagement with six abuse survivors during a trip to Spain, where the Catholic hierarchy is now confronting its history of abuse and cover-up. In France, a 2021 report estimated that 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel. Demonstrating a commitment to this issue, Pope Leo recently appointed French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission.
The September 25-28 trip marks Pope Leo’s fourth international journey this year, following visits to Monaco, four African nations, Spain, and the Canary Islands. The Vatican has also confirmed that he will visit Latin America in November, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, where he previously served for over three decades.
Pope Leo’s itinerary begins in Paris on September 25, where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. He will address authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps, followed by a speech at UNESCO headquarters. The day will conclude with a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.
On the second day, Pope Leo will focus on social inclusion and active participation, visiting the Maison Bakhita center for social support and integration. He will also meet with a synodal assembly aimed at involving laypeople in church matters and recently baptized Catholics. Later, he will travel to Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site, to pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions and meet with staff and visitors at the Accueil Notre-Dame. The visit will conclude with a Rosary and torchlight procession.
The final day will take place in Metz, near the Luxembourg and German border, where Pope Leo will participate in an interreligious meeting at a conference center named after Robert Schuman, a key figure in the founding of Europe. This visit reflects a commitment to justice and reconciliation, resonating with the biblical call to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
