Emmanuel Macron and Léon XIV: a key first meeting
After having met Pope Francis six times, Emmanuel Macron was now also received by the Argentinian’s successor, Pope Leo
The Middle East and the situation of Christians at the heart of the discussions
This first tête-à-tête lasted about an hour. According to a press release from the Holy See, the discussions focused “on important issues of international order, with an exchange of views on conflict situations in the world, hoping to be able to restore peaceful coexistence through dialogue and negotiation.”
While the situation in the Middle East remains particularly precarious, particularly in Lebanon – a country to which Emmanuel Macron and Léon XIV have repeatedly affirmed their attachment – international news has dominated discussions. According to the daily The Cross*, Mgr Hugues de Woillemont, director of the Œuvre d’Orient, was in the delegation of the French president, a sign of this emphasis placed on mid-eastern questions and the situation of Christians in the region.
Another member of the delegation, according to the daily: Guillaume Prévost, secretary general of Catholic education. A presence which showed that the discussions also focused on the question of these educational establishments. In a message to the French bishops signed by his Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, the Pope recently asked them to “defend with determination the Christian dimension of Catholic teaching which, without references to Jesus Christ, would lose its reason for being”.
An invitation to France for Léon XIV against a backdrop of internal political tensions
According to Le FigaroEmmanuel Macron also went to the Vatican to give Leo XIV an invitation to visit France. According to consistent sources, such a trip by the pope is currently being considered for the start of the 2026 school year.
However, two obstacles could hinder it. First of all, the debates around the end of life, with the law currently under study in Parliament which would aim to legalize euthanasia, to which the Catholic Church is fiercely opposed. Second obstacle: the approach of the presidential election, popes generally avoiding traveling to countries during electoral periods.
* Published by the Bayard group, also publisher of Pilgrim.
