Leo
Welcomed like a rock star, the American pope arriving in a popemobile was cheered by the public who had been waiting for him for several hours to the sound of pop-praise and gospel groups, during this evening intended to illustrate the renewed religiosity of young Catholics in France, where adult baptisms have been increasing for five years.
Speech at 10:30 p.m.
After going around the track in a popemobile to thunderous applause, the Pope went on stage where he was welcomed by the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Etienne Guillet, who greeted him with “Welcome, most Holy Father, to Seine-Saint-Denis!”
The precise program includes several speeches, songs and prayers, as well as an exchange of questions and answers between the Pope and two faithful, during this evening for which tickets were snapped up in half an hour. With the great saints of France as a common thread.
A notable moment of the ceremony must be the exhibition of the “Holy Tunic of Christ”, a relic considered by some believers to be the garment worn by Jesus just before his crucifixion, and usually kept safe in the basilica of Argenteuil (Val-d’Oise), not far from Saint-Denis. Leo
