Pope Leo XIV to visit Catholic Institute of Paris

Pope Leo XIV met with catechumens and members of the Archdiocese of Paris’ Synodal Assembly at the Catholic Institute of Paris on September 26. During the meeting, the pope expressed amazement at the number of people seeking baptism, noting that the surge in baptisms among adults and young people in France contradicts any defeatist attitude.

The visit to the institute, which serves as a major intellectual hub for the Archdiocese of Paris, held personal significance for the pope. The campus occupies the former Discalced Carmelite convent where Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a spiritual writer favored by the pope, entered religious life in 1630. The pope visited the refectory, church, and sacristy, areas that remain unchanged from the time Brother Lawrence worked there as a cook and shoemaker.

Jean de Saint-Cheron, vice rector of the institute, noted that the university has expanded its research and influence since St. John Paul II visited in 1981. The institute currently enrolls more than 11,000 students, with one quarter coming from abroad.