French President Emmanuel Macron will not attend any of the Masses that Leo XIV will celebrate during his apostolic journey to France, scheduled from September 25 to 28. The Élysée has confirmed the head of state’s absence from the liturgical celebrations, although Macron will receive the Pontiff upon his arrival in the country and will participate in the main institutional events of the visit.
The absence will be especially visible on Saturday, September 26, when Leo XIV presides over a massive Mass in the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Macron will be represented by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, while Brigitte Macron will also attend the celebration.
The decision contrasts with what happened in September 2023, when Macron did attend the Mass celebrated by Francis at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, a presence that at the time provoked criticism from sectors that considered his attendance incompatible with the French conception of secularism.
Macron will receive the Pope at the Élysée
Macron’s absence from the Masses does not mean that the French president will remain apart from the visit.
Leo XIV will arrive on Friday, September 25 at Orly airport, where he will be received by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. He will then move to the Élysée Palace to hold a meeting with the president and deliver his first speech before the authorities, the diplomatic corps and representatives of civil society.
On Monday, Macron will also participate in the Metz stage, where Leo XIV will deliver a speech on European construction as a model for peace before European political representatives.
The trip, however, has a markedly pastoral character. The official program includes Paris, Saint-Denis, Lourdes and Metz and includes large religious celebrations, among them the Saturday Mass in the Place de la Concorde, the Sunday Mass at the Lourdes Shrine and the Monday celebration at Metz Cathedral.
A visit with a protocol reduced by Rome
Macron’s decision comes after several weeks in which the protocol of the visit has drawn particular attention.
As was already known during the preparation of the trip, the Holy See declined several of the ceremonial elements initially proposed by the Élysée. There will be no state dinner or award of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor to Leo XIV, and Rome also requested a reduction in the military ceremonial.
Macron had also wanted to personally show the Pope the restoration of Notre-Dame and introduce him to those who participated in its reconstruction after the 2019 fire. That moment is also not finally included in the program.
The Élysée has tried to rule out that these modifications respond to a deterioration in relations. Sources from the French Presidency maintain that the program was drawn up with «confidence,» «serenity» and without «any tension.»
Leo XIV will attend Notre-Dame on Friday to celebrate Vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and seminarians.