Pope Leo rejects Macron’s rand welcome: no banquet or private Notre-Dame visit

Pope Leo XIV declined a formal state welcome from French President Emmanuel Macron, limiting their official contact to a meeting at the Élysée Palace. According to Rome Reports, the Holy See rejected planned honors including a military reception, an official banquet, and the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.

The Pope also declined a private tour of the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral offered by Macron. Instead, Leo XIV chose to pray at the cathedral with the French Church. While Macron approached the visit as a diplomatic meeting between heads of state, the Pope is conducting an apostolic journey focused on faith and unity.

The visit comes as the French Church faces both an increase in baptisms and a rise in the vandalism of places of worship. During this trip, the Pope intends to listen to and build bridges with migrants, refugees, survivors of abuse, and those returning to the faith.