The head of the word’s 1.4 billion Catholics 4-day France visit, with the pontiff scheduled to preside a giant open-air mass on the prestigious Place de la Concorde and Champs-Elysees this weekend, touted as a Catholic outreach to the dominantly non-religious nation, has turned into fodder to religio-political rumours

The first ever visit for Leo XIV, the US-Pontiff, who has his grandparents hailing from France, has ruffled the feathers in Presidential Palace. The overtures from Emmanuel Macron to share the limelight were turned down, and despite efforts to pass it off as a “non-issue”, it has failed to subside rumours that all is not well between the two leaders.

However, the Head of State welcomed Léo XIV to Paris on Friday. He will not attend any of the three Masses celebrated during the apostolic visit. Behind the scenes, preparations have been marred by a few misunderstandings

At the end of Vespers, which Pope Leo XIV is due to celebrate on 25 September in the late afternoon at Notre-Dame de Paris, there will be no private meeting with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who had hoped to personally present to him the cathedral’s restoration work—launched following the fire on 15 and 16 April 2019—as well as the workers who contributed to the project. According to reports in catholic press “La Croix”, the pontiff politely declined Presidential offer.

It may be recalled that his predecessor Pope Francis had declined an invitation to its reopening in late 2024, when high-profile guests included then US president-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk were special invitees.

In the final year of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron is finally hosting ‘his’ papal visit. His predecessor Pope Francis had visited Strasbourg, Marseille and Corsica, He had, in fact, declined Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame in late 2024. This time, Pope Francis’s visit to France, from Friday to Monday, will indeed include a full institutional programme. Although the term ‘state visit’ – which is the highest level of protocol for receiving a foreign leader – is not used by the Vatican, where, as is customary, the term ‘apostolic journey’ is employed

Officially, the Pope’s schedule was too full. Unofficially, he did not wish to have a moment that might be reminiscent of the cathedral’s lavish inauguration in late 2024, attended by dozens of heads of state and a host of billionaires, including Elon Musk and avoided by his predecessor.

‘A bombshell at the Vatican’, a ‘detestable atmosphere’, ‘an unprecedented rift’... On social media, messages that had gone viral this January claim that relations between Pope Leo XIV and Emmanuel Macron have recently deteriorated. It was even rumoured that the Vatican had reportedly cancelled the private audience the pontiff was due to grant the president during the week of 12–18 January.

One of the theories, which is gaining grounds, for this deep hatred, is the, bill championed by Macron on “assisted dying” (euthanasia) .

However, Leo will address a wide range of thorny issues during his trip, ranging from clerical sexual abuse and the dangers of artificial intelligence to the migration crisis and peace in Europe.

Among the political circles, the talk is that Macron has waded into a controversy, which he does not need, as only around five percent of France's 69 million residents go to Catholic church, in a deeply secular country that has enshrined the right to abortion in the constitution and approved assisted dying for some patients.

Pope John Paul II travelled to France eight times between 1980 and 2004, while Pope Benedict XVI officially visited once in September 2008. Pope Francis made three visits -- to Strasbourg, Marseille and the island of Corsica -- but none were state trips.

Leo comes to France as the eurozone's second-largest economy gears up for presidential elections next year to replace Macron, with the far right eyeing its best chance yet at seizing power.

The pope will then head to the UNESCO headquarters, where it is thought he will speak about artificial intelligence, after earlier this year issuing a call to "disarm" AI to "prevent it from dominating humanity".

A short pope mobile drive away, he will attend a ceremony at Notre Dame, the storied cathedral ravaged by a fire in 2019. In the evening, Leo will pray with tens of thousands of young Catholics aged 17 to 35 in a stadium outside Paris.

He will also speak privately with seven victims of clerical sex abuse, including a now 80-year-old former student of a nearby Catholic boarding school rocked in recent years by allegations of mass physical and sexual abuse.

For the last leg of his trip, on Monday, Leo will celebrate mass in the northeastern city of Metz near the German border.

At a time of strained ties as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on in its fifth year, Leo is expected to make a speech about peace in Europe. EU heads of state and government have been invited to attend, a French presidential source has said.

The pope will also meet representatives of the country's main faiths -- Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox Christian and Buddhist -- to sign a peace declaration.