Pope Leo XIV Visits Lourdes, Becoming Third Pontiff to Pray at the Grotto of Massabielle

Pope Leo XIV visited the Lourdes pilgrimage site after leaving Paris, praying at the Grotto of Massabielle, one of the Catholic Church's most significant pilgrimage destinations, according to a France 24 report.

The visit makes him the third pope to travel to Lourdes, following Benedict XVI and John Paul II before him. The grotto is associated with reported Marian apparitions in the 19th century and draws millions of pilgrims each year.

Meeting planned with abuse survivors

On Sunday, the pontiff is scheduled to celebrate another open-air Mass before holding a private meeting with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse. The meeting comes against the backdrop of a French government-commissioned inquiry that found members of the Catholic Church had abused an estimated 330,000 minors over a seven-decade period.

The scale of the findings from that inquiry, published in recent years, has placed continued pressure on Church leadership in France and at the Vatican to address the legacy of abuse and its handling by Church authorities.

The Vatican has not released further public detail on what topics will be discussed during the private meeting with survivors, and the pope has not yet made extensive public remarks on the matter during this visit.