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POPE LEO XIV IN LOURDES AND METZ

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Lourdes and Metz  ||  | 26 September 2026
Iniziative (EN) - Maison de la Paix (EN)

A delegation from the ‘United States of the World’ and the ‘Fondazione Mediterraneo’ took part in Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lourdes and Metz.
In the Grotto of Massabielle, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette, “no vulnerability is rejected”, because “it stands as a sanctuary of Christian hope”, in the face of “current trends that seek to redefine the value of human life in the face of illness, suffering or old age”. So said Pope Leo XIV in his homily during the Mass celebrated on the Prairie of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, before more than 150,000 faithful, in which he emphasised that, at this historic moment, “within a society in search of progress and material well-being”, but which at times attempts “to forget the horizon of eternity, Mary comes to remind us of the greatness and significance of our vocation to life, to eternal life”.
Before the celebration, from 10.00 am, following his meeting with the French bishops, Leo XIV travelled in the popemobile along the avenues of the Esplanade to the basilicas of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Immaculate Conception, and then past the Grotto to the Prairie, greeting the pilgrims and hugging some children, as if at a large general audience at the Vatican. He then made his way to the sacristy behind the large altar platform, a white structure with three arches at the front and others on all sides.

Secretary-General Michele Capasso commented: “It was moving to see the Pope in this place praying for peace, against hatred and violence: here in Lourdes, life is always welcomed as a precious gift from God”.
“Lourdes is a blessed place where we profess our faith in the beauty and sacredness of life, for here it is welcomed as a precious gift from God, destined to flourish for all eternity in the Father’s love.
The enthusiasm of the young people at the Mass in the Sanctuary of St Leo XIV in Lourdes is palpable. The final invitation is addressed to all pilgrims, to set out from Lourdes as ‘missionaries of hope’, for this is the miracle of this place: ‘to kindle the joy of hope right at the heart of trial and sorrow’.
In Metz, the Holy Father recalled the fundamental values of Christian Europe: rights, democracy and mutual respect.

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