Vatican & World News 28.09.2026

Laudato a Jesus Christus, Vatican and World News.

In the headlines today, Monday, September the 28th, Pope Leo celebrates Mass in the French border city of Metz at the conclusion of his four-day apostolic visit to France.

He addresses a gathering of European religious leaders at the Robert Schuman Conference Centre and upholds Europe's Christian roots.

And he says adieu to France as he prepares to board the plane, taking him back to the Vatican.

In the Vatican, I'm Linda Bordoni.

Pope Leo XIV concludes his four-day apostolic visit to France on Monday afternoon.

He's scheduled to board the Air France papal flight back to Rome at about 7pm after an official farewell ceremony at Metz Nancy-Lorraine Airport.

He's expected back in Rome just before 9pm local time.

Of course, we will bring you full coverage of the customary in-flight press conference on vaticanews.va and on all of our social media channels.

Pope Leo's fifth apostolic journey abroad, which took him to France,

saw him set off in Paris, where he celebrated Mass in the presence of 800,000 faithful in Place de la Concorde,

before visiting Lourdes at the feet of the Pyrenees Mountains,

and then undertake the third leg of his visit in Metz, just south of France's borders with Germany and Luxembourg.

Let's listen briefly to the ongoing Mass and Pope Leo XIV speaking right now in the Cathedral of St.

Stephen in Metz. Local

authorities

estimate some 35,000 faithful gathered in the St.

Stephen's Cathedral. and in Metz assisting

at the mass is Clara, a young local girl who expresses her hope that world leaders will heed Pope Leo's appeals for peace

and Henry who told Vatican Radio why the little city of Metz, unknown to most, is the right place from which to launch a plea for European unity and the common good.

I think it's very, very important because we are living in times of dividedness and hardships and I think the message of the Pope is very important.

It is a message of unity, of

solidarity, inclusivity and I think now more than ever we need this message and I'm really grateful to hear it from him.

We were really proud to have the Pope coming in our city because like Metz is not very known by lots of people

but it's a really important city for Europe. This is why the Pope is coming here.

I'm sure he will speak about peace in Europe and even in the world.

So I'm hoping he will tell some things about this and to help us how to bring peace in the world.

And before the Mass on Monday afternoon, Pope

Leo XIV addressed a gathering of European civil and

religious leaders at the Robert Schumann Conference Centre, named for one of the founding Fathers of Modern Europe, who was declared blessed by Pope Francis in 2021.

In his address, Pope Leo took

up the topic, the roots of Europe for peace and

unity, saying Europe's Christian roots help

us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization.

Christopher Wells tells us more. Explaining that Europe must be understood more as a cultural and historical reality than a geographical one,

Pope Leo XIV noted on Monday that Europe has flourished

and progressed when it was able to draw on the best aspects of its past and re-propose them in new and creative ways through encounter with others,

including with other civilizations. In a

speech highlighting Europe's Christian roots, Pope Leo said universal values such as equality, the dignity of the human person, respect for the rule of law, and a commitment to truth and justice,

can provide a basis for building a harmonious society.

The universal character of Europe's founding values, he said,