Emmanuel Macron will finally receive a pope at the Élysée

Finally ! After several attempts, Emmanuel Macron will receive a pope in Paris. This Friday, September 25, 2026, he will welcome Léon

Never shy of a diplomatic and media splash, the head of state had tried to receive his predecessor since 2019: on April 15, while Notre-Dame de Paris was still burning, he had tried by all means to contact Pope Francis to offer to come immediately. Refusal by the Bishop of Rome, unmoved by the fire.

If it was not for the catastrophe, it will be for the rebirth, Emmanuel Macron wanted to believe. Until the end, he sought to bring him for the reopening of the cathedral, on December 8, 2024. The idea was not inappropriate, as the French state mobilized to return their place of worship to the Catholics of the capital as quickly as possible. Alas, the Argentinian declined again, going to Corsica a few days later.

It was therefore necessary to wait for another successor of Saint Peter for the white cassock to be visible again in the streets of Paris, eighteen years after the visit of Benedict XVI. And yet, Emmanuel Macron does not yet have the level of closeness with Léon XIV that he displayed with François.

Without political recovery

According to observers on site, the French president indeed seemed disconcerted after his interview with Leo XIV at the Vatican in April 2026, as if he had not known how to enter into a personal relationship with the Holy Father.

It must be said that the apparent familiarity displayed with Francis did not fail to annoy some in Rome, and that the current pope is very cautious with political figures. Let us also remember that the outgoing president cannot run again in the spring of 2027, which worked in favor of this trip, the risk of recovery being lower.

This reservation is also found in the course of the program. As revealed by the daily La Croix*, the Holy See refused everything that could have given the impression of a state visit – including the escort by the Republican Guard and the official dinner. “It is above all an apostolic visit to the faithful,” we procrastinate on both sides.

Emmanuel Macron remains rational: instead of being offended, he gave his approval for the organization of the mass at Place de la Concorde and on the Champs-Élysées, which should make Paris the heart of Catholicism, the time for a celebration.

* Property of the Bayard group, publisher of Pilgrim.