"Eucharistic joy takes root and spreads wherever harmony is restored ..."
Pope Leo was full of praise for Paris' restored Notre Dame Cathedral as he prayed Vespers there this September 25, with diocesan clergy and consecrated men and woman of the diocese. The first pope to visit the cathedral since the fire of 2019 and its restoration, completed in 2024, he said that "the heart of a people beats here, and that here we stand at the living center of a civilization, where past and future embrace, where heaven and earth meet."
His homily focused largely on the symbolic importance of the cathedral, and this led naturally to a point on liturgy.
He said:
To you who celebrate the Eucharist each day, I ask you to ensure that the liturgical celebrations are always carried out with dignity and reverence, even where smaller communities gather. Be conscious heirs of the Church Fathers and saints who, over the centuries, have handed down to us the profound meaning and beauty of the liturgy, always giving an example of great humility before the Mystery that is celebrated. The Second Vatican Council, whose richness owes much to France, gathered up and deepened this heritage in an eminent way, recognizing the liturgy’s central role in the life of the Church (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10). I therefore exhort all of you, bishops, priests, deacons and consecrated persons, to cultivate an authentic love for the liturgy and to be witnesses and servants of the prophetic, priestly and kingly vocation of the entire People of God.
In this respect, the liturgy remains a reflection of life. Eucharistic joy takes root and spreads wherever harmony is restored, wherever dignity is renewed, wherever authority becomes service, and wherever freedom is able to flourish again. This is the greatest gift we can share. Therefore, place communion with the successor of Peter and with the Church before your personal preferences, so as to foster the unity of God’s people. Thus, together, we will bear prophetic witness to the possibility of a reconciled world.
Read the full homily here.
This was the third major stop on the first day of his apostolic journey to France: Leo XIV was warmly applauded as he entered the Paris cathedral late on Friday afternoon. As silence fell, the pontiff began a brief tour of the building. He paused for a few moments in prayer, notably before the relic of Christ’s Crown of Thorns, which he was presented and kissed. In a side chapel dedicated to Eastern Christians, he also took a moment to speak with various members of non-Latin Churches before presiding over the celebration of Vespers.
After Vespers, the Pope joined some 80,000 youth for a spectacular vigil, focused on the saints of France, complete with music, fireworks, and an "army of saints" dressed in the costumes of some of the nation's most notable holy men and women.
The Holy Father will be in France through Monday; tomorrow he heads to Lourdes.
