Huge crowds turned out to see Pope Leo XIV in Paris over the past week, presenting a striking demonstration of the rising appeal of Catholicism in a country where religious practice has been on the decline for generations.

An estimated 800 000 people gathered for an open-air Mass at the Place de la Concorde on Saturday during the first official Papal visit to France in 18 years – some 200 000 more than had been registered to attend. Young people were particularly prominent among the worshippers, with some 80 000 having attended a prayer vigil at the Stade de France the previous day.

The Pope acknowledged the youthful turnout, saying at Saturday’s Mass: “How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities.”

France has a complicated relationship with Catholicism. The French crown remained Catholic through the Reformation and accorded the Church a privileged position in the country, until the Revolution. While Catholicism remained the dominant religion, a strong strain of anti-Church sentiment developed in French politics, and France evolved a strict view of the separation between religion and politics.

Since the Second World War, Christian adherence in France has declined, and the country’s demographic authority estimated in 2020 that 53% of French adults aged 18 to 49 had no religious affiliation. Only 29% of the French population identified as Catholic.

This makes the enthusiasm surrounding Leo's visit noteworthy. The Catholic Church in France is experiencing an increase in participation, particularly among younger people and adults seeking baptism.

The number of adult and teenage baptisms has risen from just under 6 000 in 2022 to more than 21 000 in 2026.

One of the most striking features of this revival is the way Catholicism is making use of modern technology. A new generation of Catholic influencers has taken the faith onto YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, using the language and techniques of social media rather than relying exclusively on traditional parish structures.

David Douyère, a University of Tours professor who studies religious communications, says there is “a renewed interest in the Church in France” and that Catholic influencers have played a role in it.

For example, Dominican monk Brother Paul-Adrien has embraced the conventions of the modern YouTuber, producing brightly edited videos, using humour, and addressing subjects ranging from artificial intelligence to sexuality. His audience runs into the hundreds of thousands across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Other Catholic figures have adopted different approaches. Sister Albertine Debacker, a young nun, posts behind-the-scenes material about life as a nun, initially seeking to challenge popular misconceptions about religious life before expanding into answers to questions about Catholicism. Father Benoît Pouzin, a priest, uses TikTok and Instagram to offer prayers and short explanations of Catholic teaching.

Pouzin says his decision to use social media was prompted by seeing how much time young people spend on their phones. His objective, however, is to bring people away from the screen and back into direct contact with the Church.

The strategy has precedent. Catholic evangelisation has had a digital presence for more than two decades, while the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the move online when churches were unable to hold normal services: Catholic parishes took to holding Mass online (a matter of grave controversy for some Catholics). The Vatican has since formally recognised the role of Catholic “digital missionaries”, bringing about 1 000 Catholic influencers together in Rome in 2025.

The result is a Church that is finding new ways to communicate with people who might never encounter it through conventional religious institutions. Simply put, a new wave of Christian religious feeling is being driven in non-traditional ways.

While experiencing upward momentum, the Catholic Church in France faces a tough environment. Its historical decline has been steep. Enthusiasm for the Church’s message is not yet translating into the lifetime vocations that have constituted the bedrock of Church institutions.

The rise of Catholic influencers has also prompted debate about their reliability as sources of doctrine, and to the political views espoused by some of them. In political terms, European Catholicism has historically tended to be located on the centre-right; some of the younger generation have associated themselves with the populist right, seeing Catholicism as an element of historical identity.

The Vatican itself has warned about the dangers of polarisation on social media.

But the crowds surrounding Leo's visit provide tangible evidence that Catholicism retains the capacity to mobilise large numbers of people. For a Church that has experienced decades of decline amid a culture often hostile to it, the pope’s visit represents an encouraging moment. For young people in uncertain times, old doctrines are appealing. Leo’s visit has provided a visible expression of a changing picture: an old faith using new methods to reach a new generation and finding that there remains a substantial audience willing to listen.