Pope Leo XIV drew an estimated 800,000 people to Paris on Saturday as huge crowds gathered to welcome the pontiff before he continued his pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Lourdes.
Hundreds of thousands of worshippers lined a two-kilometre route along the Champs-Élysées as Leo travelled by popemobile from near the Arc de Triomphe towards Place de la Concorde for an outdoor Mass.
The Vatican estimated that about 800,000 people attended the Mass, surpassing the 600,000 who had registered in advance.
Waving flags and cheering, the faithful greeted the pope as he repeatedly stopped to wave to the crowds and bless children and babies along the route.
Following the Paris Mass, Leo travelled to Lourdes, arriving on Saturday evening to begin his pilgrimage with a silent prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions.
The grotto is associated with the visions reported by Bernadette Soubirous, who was 14 when she said she experienced the apparitions in 1858.
On his first full day in Lourdes, the pope walked barefoot for part of the journey to the sanctuary, greeting pilgrims and speaking with families who had travelled from different parts of Europe.
He later spent several minutes in personal prayer inside the basilica before holding private meetings with rectors and chaplains of the shrine.
On Sunday, Leo is scheduled to meet French bishops and celebrate another outdoor Mass at the sanctuary.
The pontiff is also expected to meet sick people and seven survivors of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy and personnel.
His visit will conclude with a Rosary and torchlight procession at the sanctuary.
