‘I hope France wakes up’: Young Catholics flood the streets for Pope Leo's Paris visit

A group gathers around a table in the courtyard of the Church of Saint-Séverin, tucked away in Paris’s Latin Quarter just a stone’s throw from the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Cups of coffee, snacks and water are being handed out as Laure D’Haussy struggles to fold a paper fortune-teller. “We’re using these as ice breakers,” she says. “If a person picks the corner with the olive branch, they have to shout, ‘Long live the pope, long live Jesus!’” D’Haussy is a member of Anuncio, a French Catholic organisation focused on proselytising and promoting Christian culture. The group is mostly made up of young people aged 18 to 35, who aim to share the gospel “creatively” in public spaces. When news came of Pope Leo XIV making a historic visit to Paris, members of Anuncio decided to seize the opportunity and organise an ad gentes evangelist mission. Read moreLeo XIV opens France visit with Paris 'popemobile' ride, warnings of AI threat to humanity Beyond the walls of the church, balconies and sidewalks along the Boulevard Saint-Germain are littered with the Vatican’s yellow and white colours. Police vans and metal fences cordon off vast areas of the neighbourhood, ensuring there is full control of...