In the city of Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV met with the Bishops of France.
They began with a greeting and a hymn asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.
Then came a welcome address by Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Bishops’ Conference.
It was so comprehensive that the pope joked there was nothing left for him to add.
POPE LEO XIV
Good morning, Your Eminence, Your Excellency. The president has said everything, there is no need to talk! I am very pleased to meet you, dear brothers in the episcopate, in this blessed by heaven.
Then he did speak, and among other things, urged them to defend the Church’s right to evangelize.
