Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during an upcoming four-day visit to France, the Vatican confirmed on Friday. The Vatican issued a statement noting that the victims will be involved in the planning of these meetings, though the specific timing and locations for these encounters have yet to be determined. This initiative follows a similar meeting Leo held with six survivors during his recent trip to Spain, a nation currently grappling with its own history of clerical abuse and institutional cover-ups.
The issue of sexual abuse remains a significant focus for the pontiff, who last month appointed French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission. This decision comes in the wake of a 2021 report that estimated 330,000 children were sexually abused by church personnel in France over a 70-year period.
The France trip, which is set to take place from September 25 to 28, marks the Pope’s fourth foreign voyage this year. The itinerary begins in Paris on September 25, where Leo will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. Following this, he is scheduled to address civil society, authorities, and the diplomatic corps before delivering a speech at the headquarters of UNESCO. His first day will conclude with vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.
On the second day, the Pope plans to emphasize social inclusion and new converts by visiting the Maison Bakhita center for social support. He will also participate in a meeting with a synodal assembly focused on involving laypeople in church governance. Later that day, he will travel to Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site. There, he will pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions and visit the staff and patients of the Accueil Notre-Dame, eventually concluding his time in the city by participating in the traditional Rosary and torchlight procession.
The visit will end in the border city of Metz. Leo is scheduled to attend an interreligious meeting at a conference center named for Robert Schuman, a French statesman and foundational figure of European integration who was declared “venerable” in 2021. While his predecessor, Pope Francis, generally avoided major European Christian centers during his 12-year pontificate, Pope Leo appears to be placing a renewed emphasis on the experiences of the European faithful.
25-28 France trip, which was confirmed in May, will be Leo’s fourth foreign voyage of the year.Leo made a day trip to Monaco in March, visited four African nations in April and Spain and the Canary Islands in June.
The Vatican also confirmed this week that he will make his first trip to Latin America as pontiff in November, with visits to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he served for over three decades.Leo will start his visit Sept.
