Santi Taboada
French President Emmanuel Macron had planned a formal welcome for Pope Leo XIV. It was set to include a military reception, official ceremonies, a banquet and the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest distinction awarded by the French state.
However, the Holy See declined the honours, and the president’s official contact with the Pope will limited to a meeting at the Élysée Palace.
Macron had also wanted to give the Pope a private tour of the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral. But Leo XIV chose instead to pray there with the French Church. The decision sends a clear message about the nature of his visit.
The difference may come down to how Macron and the French Church view the Pope and his role.
Macron sees Pope Leo as a fellow head of state, the sovereign of the Holy See and an important diplomatic figure, with a voice on conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. He is also an important figure for European identity.
But Leo’s arrival in France is, above all, an apostolic journey. In other words, a visit focused on faith and unity. Macron is not the only one who invited him: France’s bishops did too.
The situation facing the Catholic Church in France is also complex. The country has seen an increase in adult conversions and baptisms, but also a rise in vandalism and the desecration of Christian places of worship.
The French Church hopes Leo’s visit will encourage this renewed interest in the faith. The Pope is traveling there to ‘listen and build bridges.' Especially with those returning to the Church, survivors of abuse, and migrants and refugees.
This is where Macron and the Pope differ in their approach. Macron sees Leo XIV as an important diplomatic partner, while the French Church sees his visit as an opportunity to strengthen the revival of the Catholic church in France.
