For a few days, France — one of Europe's most secular countries — looked like it was in the throes of a Catholic revival.
asserted
it → look → revival
An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets for
in Paris on Saturday, according to the Vatican.
uncertain
people → fill → Vatican
Priests there were seen hearing confessions out in the open, no confessional required.
asserted
confessional → see → open
The night before, roughly 80,000 young people gathered for a lively prayer vigil full of singing and dancing at the Stade de France, the national football and rugby stadium.
asserted
people → gather → France
In
, where believers say a famous Catholic shrine gushes with healing waters, streets were crowded with pilgrims waving flags and holding babies aloft as the pope passed in his popemobile.
asserted
pope → say → popemobile
More than 150,000 people attended Sunday Mass there.
asserted
people → attend → Mass
This, all in a country where hundreds of clergy were publicly executed during the French Revolution — many by guillotine.
asserted
hundreds → execute → guillotine
French Ambassador to the Holy See Charles Personnaz described the pope's visit as a "very living exchange between the pope and the people of France" and said it allowed an "appeal to the young people to engage themselves for peace, not to be afraid of the future."
"And that is a wondrous sign for the youth of France and everywhere in Europe, in fact," he said.
asserted
he → describe → fact
The crowds offered a striking welcome for the first American pope.
asserted
crowds → offer → pope
They also raised a question: Is faith making a comeback in France?
asserted
faith → raise → France
Some evidence suggests renewed interest.
uncertain
evidence → suggest → interest
The French bishops conference counted 21,386 adult and adolescent baptisms at Easter this year.
asserted
conference → count → Easter
That number included 13,234 adults, up 28% from last year and more than triple the number a decade ago.
asserted
number → include → adults
Leo made a point to publicly visit some of the newly baptized during his visit.
asserted
Leo → make → visit
Still, France has a population of nearly 70 million, and in the latest broad survey from the national statistics agency, 51% of people aged 18 to 59 said they had no religion.
asserted
they → have → religion
Just 29% identified as Catholic.
asserted
% → identify → Catholic
The same survey showed the fastest-growing religious category was Christians who did not identify as Catholic.
asserted
who → show → Catholic
Their share rose in the last decade from 2.5% to 9% among 18- to 49-year-olds.
asserted
share → rise → olds
Islam rose from 8% to 11% in the same age range.
asserted
Islam → rise → range
A number of French laws reflect the gaps between Catholic teaching and public policies and civic values.
asserted
number → reflect → teaching
In 2024, France added a guaranteed freedom to seek an abortion to its constitution.
asserted
France → add → constitution
Last month, it enacted a law allowing assisted dying under specified conditions for people with serious, incurable illnesses.
asserted
it → enact → illnesses
Both measures conflict with the Catholic Church's position on the sanctity of life, and Leo spoke out against both on this trip.
asserted
Leo → conflict → trip
Catholic affiliation also has been falling across much of the West.
asserted
affiliation → fall → West
In the U.S., the share of adults identifying as Catholic dropped from 24% in 2007 to 19% in 2023-24, according to Pew Research's Religious Landscape Study.
uncertain
share → identify → Study
The scenes in Paris and Lourdes have visibly inspired Pope Leo and clergy across France.
asserted
scenes → inspire → France
But whether they signal a lasting change in church attendance or religious affiliation remains to be seen.
asserted
signal → signal → attendance
The Aporia
