A striking display of Catholic faith in France is drawing attention far beyond the Church, with tens of thousands of young Catholics filling the country’s largest stadium for prayer with Pope Leo XIV — even as a Muslim apologetics organization publicly warns that France could one day “become Catholic again.”
Approximately 80,000 young people gathered at the Stade de France outside Paris on Sept. 25 for a prayer vigil with Pope Leo, according to Catholic World News. During the gathering, the young faithful heard Scripture, venerated relics, prayed the Litany of the Saints and joined the Pope in singing the Salve Regina in Latin.
The extraordinary gathering came during Pope Leo’s September 25–28 apostolic journey through France, which includes stops in Paris, Lourdes and Metz. Vatican News said the visit was organized around themes including faith, culture, peace and the future of Europe.
The scale of the Catholic turnout has been difficult to ignore.
Local authorities estimated that approximately 300,000 people gathered along Pope Leo’s route to Notre-Dame Cathedral on the first day of his visit, according to the Vatican. The following day, the Vatican estimated that approximately 800,000 people attended the Pope’s outdoor Mass in central Paris, filling the Champs-Élysées and surrounding areas.
Against that backdrop, a French Muslim apologetics organization called Miséricorde pour l’Humanité attracted attention after publicly expressing concern about what it sees as a Catholic resurgence.
According to LifeSiteNews, the organization wrote on X on September 25 that it was “sad” to witness the enthusiasm surrounding Catholicism and made a remarkable prediction about France’s religious future.
“In 45 years, France will become Catholic again and we will be left with nothing but our tears,” the group wrote, according to LifeSiteNews.
The organization also acknowledged what it considers the organizational strength and determination of Catholics, while predicting that American Catholics could exert increasing religious and cultural influence abroad.
“American Catholics will now flood the world with their soft power,” the group claimed, according to LifeSiteNews.
The statements represent the views and predictions of the organization and are not evidence that France as a whole is undergoing an inevitable demographic return to Catholicism. Still, they come amid visible signs of renewed Catholic participation, particularly among some younger French people.
The group has made clear that it intends to oppose that development through lawful means. In another social media post cited by LifeSiteNews, Miséricorde pour l’Humanité described Catholics as respected “theological opponents” while saying it would work to contain what it called “the resurgence of the Catholic religion.”
“Let them [Catholics] know that I have enormous esteem for them as theological opponents, but I will fight to the end, God willing, with cordiality and in compliance with [civil] law,” the group wrote, according to LifeSiteNews.
The organization has also pointed to adult baptisms, Catholic media, younger clergy and evangelization efforts as evidence for its belief that Catholicism could regain influence in France.
Those arguments are particularly noteworthy as France witnesses unusually large Catholic gatherings during Pope Leo’s visit.
At the Stade de France, the youthful face of that faith was unmistakable. The vigil recalled important moments and saints from France’s Catholic history, while the young people prayed together in a venue normally associated with major sporting events.
Pope Leo challenged those gathered to make their faith visible in their lives.
“Humanity goes astray when it claims that God is dead,” the Pope told the young people, according to Catholic World News. “Without God, we have no salvation and we lose the meaning of our existence.”
The stadium gathering was followed by another enormous public demonstration of faith when approximately 800,000 people attended the Pope’s Mass in Paris. The turnout exceeded the roughly 600,000 people who had registered in advance, according to Euronews.
Whether these events represent the beginning of a lasting Catholic revival in France remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: in a country often associated with aggressive secularization and declining religious practice, Catholicism is once again capable of drawing enormous crowds — including tens of thousands of young believers.
And perhaps one of the most remarkable signs came not from a Catholic commentator, but from a group determined to oppose Catholic evangelization.
Its prediction was simple:
“France will become Catholic again.”
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So happy ❤️to hear that God ✝️has mercy on France 🇫🇷calling them 🥰back to Him❤️❤️❤️we have to keep fighting and evangelizing to spread the faith don’t be afraid to tell people about Jesus ☦️and tell people about the rosary 🙏