The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Leo will journey to France from September 25 through 28, with plans to visit UNESCO’s Paris headquarters as the organization grapples with financial challenges following America’s withdrawal from the agency in the previous year.
The pontiff, who became the first American pope and recently completed his first year guiding the 1.4-billion-member Church on May 8, has been increasing his travel schedule and speaking with greater boldness, drawing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump after the pope condemned the Iran war.
The president’s choice to pull America out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after returning to office caused the agency to lose 8% of its overall funding, according to UNESCO officials.
Earlier this month, French church leaders had indicated the pope would likely make the September journey to their nation, including stops in Paris and Lourdes, home to a renowned Catholic pilgrimage site. However, they had not mentioned UNESCO as part of the planned visit.
The papal trip will also likely include celebrating mass at the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which reopened in 2024 following a five-year closure after a catastrophic fire nearly caused the structure to collapse. UNESCO named the cathedral a distinguished World Heritage site in 1991.
This French journey will mark Leo’s fourth international trip this year, coming after a four-country African tour, a Monaco visit, and a scheduled June trip to Spain, where the pope plans to advocate for improved treatment of migrants entering Europe.
Vatican officials said they will release more specific details about the French visit at a later date.
Leo is anticipated to hold meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron during his stay and may potentially speak before the French parliament.
Benedict XVI was the most recent pope to conduct an official French visit in 2008. The late Pope Francis, who passed away in April 2025 following 12 years of church leadership, made three trips to French territories but never completed a formal state visit to France.
Francis conducted a single-day journey to Strasbourg in 2014 to speak before the European Parliament and Council of Europe, spent two days in Marseille in 2023 for a conference, and made a brief 2024 visit to Corsica to meet with Catholics on the Mediterranean island.
Leo, previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, has French immigrants to America among his family lineage.
