PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV Visits France’s Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral

September 25, 2026 World News

Pope Leo XIV stands outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sept. 25, 2026 to pray the Salve Regina before the statue of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus. Commissioned in the early 19th century and crafted by goldsmith Charles-Nicolas Odiot, the statue survived being thrown from the archbishop’s palace during the riots of 1831 and later narrowly escaped being melted down.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting France from Sept. 25–28 and elebrated Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris Friday evening, becoming the first pope to visit the church since it was rebuilt.

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