PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people packed Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées avenue for Pope Leo XIV’s big outdoor Mass on Saturday, a sign of the Catholic Church’s enduring appeal in the once staunchly Catholic but officially secular country.

The American pope greeted the flag-waving, cheering throngs from his popemobile during a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) parade along the grand boulevard leading to the Place de la Concorde for Mass, essentially the heart of Paris and a symbol of the French republic.