Pope Léon XIV's French visit draws 1.5M, signals religious revival in secular France

Pope Léon XIV's four-day apostolic visit to Paris, Lourdes, and Metz drew at least 1.5 million people, a notable contrast to decades of church desertion in secular France. The visit's success suggests a potential shift in French spiritual sentiment, though its long-term political and social implications remain uncertain. This development is significant for its symbolic challenge to France's entrenched secularism.