About 700,000 people gather in Paris for Pope Leo’s Mass — Cyprus Mail

About 700,000 people gathered in Paris, France, for an open-air Mass by Pope Leo, the largest event of his visit to the country. Crowds filled a 2.2-km stretch of the Champs-Élysées, from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe.

As Cyprus Mail reports, citing Reuters, more than 600,000 people pre-registered to attend the daytime Mass, while the Vatican estimated attendance at about 700,000. People held white-and-yellow flags and waited along barriers to see the pontiff.

Meeting on the Champs-Élysées

Pope Leo traveled along the Champs-Élysées in an open popemobile. The crowd chanted “Leo, Leo” and “Long live the Pope.” The vehicle stopped repeatedly as the pontiff blessed babies, children and people with disabilities whom volunteers brought closer to him.

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One participant in the meeting, 42-year-old Géraldine Pambu, said she hoped for new statements from the Pope on peace, as there are too many wars in the world, in her words.

Statements on international crises and AI

Leo’s visit to France lasts four days and includes three cities. On Friday, during a speech at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, he said that the UN and other multilateral organizations were experiencing a crisis. The pontiff also called for rethinking the development of artificial intelligence, warning French leaders of a possible future in which a “paradise of machines” would control Earth.

On Saturday, Leo met recently baptized Catholics at the Catholic University of Paris. He urged the French Church not to be “naively optimistic” about the growing number of believers. The pontiff is later due to visit Lourdes, where a meeting with seven French survivors of clergy abuse is scheduled for Sunday.