ROME: Pope Leo XIV has added a significant new destination to his busy international travel schedule for this year. The Vatican confirmed that the Pontiff will embark on a four-day official visit to France in late September. Scheduled from September 25 to 28, the apostolic journey will also include a historic stop at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. This upcoming tour marks the Pope’s fourth foreign voyage of the year, following a day trip to Monaco in March, a multi-nation tour across four African countries in April, and an upcoming trip to Spain and the Canary Islands in June.
This planned visit represents a noticeable shift from the pastoral style of his predecessor, Pope Francis. During his twelve-year pontificate, the former Pope famously stayed away from the major historical Christian centers of Europe, choosing instead to prioritize smaller, marginalized Catholic communities far from Rome. By confirming a state visit to France, the current Pontiff appears to be paying closer attention to the experiences of the European faithful, a move that comes amid reports of a renewed interest in the Catholic faith among young adults across the continent.
The scheduled stop at UNESCO headquarters will provide the Pope with an ideal platform to address a global audience. This opportunity is particularly noteworthy since the American-born Pontiff decided against traveling to his native United States this year, where he otherwise could have addressed the UN General Assembly like previous popes. While Pope Francis did travel to France during his tenure—visiting Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille in 2023—those were brief regional appearances rather than official state visits to the French capital. Meanwhile, a highly anticipated papal tour of Latin America, including Peru, later in the year remains unconfirmed and under evaluation by the Vatican.
