'Scourge' of abuse must be rooted out, says Pope, during Lourdes visitPope Leo spoke to bishops before leading a service attended by thousands of worshippers in France.20 mins ago

Pope Leo has called on French bishops to root out the “scourge” of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church, telling them to “maintain the greatest vigilance”, ahead of a meeting with abuse survivors.

The Pope delivered the message to bishops during a private meeting at the Sanctuary of Our Holy Lady of Lourdes, a holy site in southern France, on the third day of his four-day official visit to France.

A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as children in France over 70 years.

The Pope said Mass in front of thousands of worshippers in Lourdes, before he was scheduled to meet survivors of abuse privately later.

“It is important to persevere along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance.”

The gathering of senior church leaders was held behind closed doors and the remarks were later released to reporters.

The Lourdes gathering came a day after an estimated 700,000 people flocked to the Place de la Concorde in Paris to hear the pontiff speak.

Huge crowds cheered and waved as he rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue greeting followers from his open-topped popemobile.

On Friday, the Pope also met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During Saturday’s Mass in Paris, the Pope told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but “let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed”.

The leader of the Catholic Church also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as “today’s Church”.

“How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities,” he said.

The number of regular worshippers in France has fallen from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today, while the number of priests has shrunk by two-thirds from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.

But in recent years there have been signs of a growing interest in religious tradition, with the number of adult baptisms more than doubling in five years to hit 10,000 in 2025.

Later on Sunday the Pope will meet staff and residents at the health facility at Lourdes, before taking part in a torchlight procession in the evening.

It is the Pope’s first official visit to France since being chosen to lead the Roman Catholic church in May 2025.

Pope’s have regularly visited France, a country with an avowedly secular modern political history but deep Catholic roots.