PARIS (OSV News) — In a country witnessing record surge of adult baptisms, Pope Leo XIV met with protagonists of the trend Sept. 26, at the grounds of the Catholic Institute of Paris. Among those meeting the pope were catechumens, recent converts and participants in the Archdiocese of Paris’ Synodal Assembly.

Father Maximilien de la Martinière, secretary general of the assembly — a major initiative of the Archdiocese of Paris organized in response to a surge in adult and youth conversions across France — did not hide his joy. 

Pope Leo’s visit “is a true gift,” he told OSV News. “It was not originally planned. But it serves as a wonderful introduction to our plenary sessions and gives significant visibility to our work, which is set to have an impact on all the dioceses in France.”

After hearing testimonies of three newly baptized Catholics, Pope Leo said he is filled with “deep gratitude for God’s unfathomable work.”

“Like you, and together with you, I am struck by the number of people returning to the threshold of the faith, and by the many adults seeking the sacraments of Christian initiation,” he said.

He said in a French society it may seem “paradoxical” that this phenomenon of “rediscovering the Gospel and embracing the faith, is taking place in a society so marked by a deeply secularized culture.”

“Your experience and your testimonies … are a tangible sign of the action of God’s grace, which far surpasses statistical and sociological analysis.”

Nadia: Meeting pope event of ‘exceptional nature’

Among the new believers who welcomed the pope was Nadia, 29, who now herself accompanies catechumens toward baptism, and only wanted to give her first name. A historian and university researcher, she was baptized at the Easter Vigil of 2024 in the nearby Diocese of Saint-Denis.

“I come from a mixed-faith family,” she told OSV News. “My father is Muslim, while my mother was Catholic. I grew up in a multicultural environment marked by great openness to others and mutual respect. It was gradually, as I grew up, that I realized I was a Christian,” she told OSV News.

“I took the step of asking to be baptized after my mother’s death when I was 19, thanks to a woman I met by chance — but certainly thanks to the Holy Spirit — who helped me immensely and who later became my godmother,” Nadia said.

“After my baptism, I committed myself to helping the leaders of our parish, who were overwhelmed by the influx of catechumens,” Nadia continued. “Today, I am the catechumens coordinator in my parish. So I can bring to the assembly this dual experience of having gone through the catechumenate journey both as a catechumen and now as a leader.”

For Nadia, the pope’s visit is a “major event.” “As a historian, I fully appreciate the rarity and exceptional nature of what we are experiencing with this Synodal Assembly,” she said. “What we are doing will be sent to Rome and may serve as a model for all of France — and even beyond. This is no small matter. Today, the pope, the successor of St. Peter, takes an interest in our work and comes to speak with us. It is a historic event!”

Myriam: ‘Pope Francis played a major role in my conversion’

Myriam, a student and also a newcomer to the Catholic Church, represented the Diocese of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris. She only wanted to give her first name.

“Meeting the pope is very moving for me,” she told OSV News. “Pope Francis played a major role in my conversion. At first, I read the Bible from an intellectual perspective, for my literary education. But one day, thanks to one of his homilies, which I read on Vatican News, I suddenly understood the meaning of the Gospel passage where Jesus sleeps in the boat during the storm. I realized that Christ was there, in the reality of my life, that he was reaching out his hand to me and waiting for me to take it, in the midst of the storm I was going through at the time. That was in January 2024. I then asked to be baptized.”

“Today, meeting the pope also means meeting the one who unites us all as new Christians, even though we come from very diverse backgrounds,” Myriam continued. “With this influx of catechumens, we are experiencing firsthand God’s incredible mercy and his work in our hearts. Seeing the pope helps us become aware of our place in the Church. For our baptism is not an end, but a beginning!”

Jennifer: joyful, multicultural, caring parish

Among those seeking baptism was Jennifer Mairesse, 33, from the Diocese of Saint-Denis, who came from Bondy, the town northeast of Paris where French star soccer player Kylian Mbappé grew up.

A special education teacher for children with intellectual disabilities, she will be baptized on Easter 2027, following a journey that began about 10 years ago.

“It was last year that I took the step of asking to be baptized in my parish in Bondy,” she said. “I was welcomed into a very joyful, very multicultural and very caring parish, filled with joy and music. There are many of us catechumens in this parish. Last year, there were about 20 adult baptisms.”

Pope Leo told new Catholics that community is key in seeking the faith.

“We are called to reach out to our brothers and sisters, rediscovering God’s own way of acting, which is characterized by closeness, compassion and tenderness,” he said. “With pastoral tenderness and fraternal charity, we must recognize, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns.”

For Mairesse, getting to know the pope is “a great joy.”

“I only recently learned that we would be able to meet the pope in a small group!” she told OSV News enthusiastically.

François: Gradual inner journey

Also present was François Lautmann, who works at a bank and came from the Diocese of Créteil, southeast of Paris. “I was raised far from the faith in my family, even though my mother was baptized Catholic and my father was Anglican,” he told OSV News.

“However, Christian culture was present in my family. I remember as a child visiting churches during vacations with my mother, who would explain to me the meaning of the paintings depicting the Passion of Christ,” he said.

“As an adult, I went through a gradual inner journey,” Lautmann testified. “It was not a sudden revelation, but one that became clearer little by little. I had been thinking about asking to be baptized for several years before taking the plunge. It was finally around the age of 28 that I took the step, a few weeks after the wedding Mass of a childhood friend in October 2025, which I found very beautiful. Following that, I bought an illustrated Bible with commentary, which I read in one sitting, before contacting my parish, where I received an extraordinary welcome.”

“From that moment on, I have never been alone on this journey,” Lautmann continued. “There are currently about 50 catechumens in my parish, and at every meeting, we discover newcomers.”

Today, Lautmann is happy to participate in the work of the Synodal Assembly.

“I am very interested in participating in the work of the Synodal Assembly and contributing my small part to this endeavor,” he said. “As I prepare to enter the Church, I feel very humble, but at the same time, my encounter with Christ has truly made me understand that the individual has a place within community life. Reading and studying the Word of Christ more deeply makes me want to open myself more to others, to get involved in my parish, and to give of my time.”

From this perspective, the pope’s meeting with a small group of people at the Catholic Institute of Paris is, for Lautmann, “an immense opportunity and honor.”

“I never would have imagined this,” he said. “I am also very surprised by the excitement his visit has generated, especially for the Mass on the Champs-Elysees. A few years ago, I never would have imagined that the pope’s visit would have sparked such enthusiasm.”

Pope Leo: Catechesis is an ongoing effort 

While cheering the newly baptized, Pope Leo said, “We must not become complacent or naively optimistic” in observing the French phenomenon.

“On the contrary, we must remain committed, open to searching, asking ourselves questions and implementing concrete pastoral initiatives,” he urged, emphasizing that it is the Holy Spirit that “inspires your Synodal Assembly, and more broadly the life of the Church in France.”

He said newly baptized Catholics need “solid and steadfast guidance,” and to avoid “the post-baptismal emptiness” — something one of the testimonies mentioned — it is “necessary to accompany and fully integrate these people into our communities and prayer gatherings after baptism, offering them a welcoming environment and a formation that is as comprehensive as possible.”.

Liturgy, he stressed, plays a fundamental role in this formation.

“The liturgy cannot be regarded as something that comes ‘after’ catechesis, where one simply applies what has been learned along the way,” the pope said. On the contrary, he said, “it manifests and makes present Christ’s Paschal Mystery, and is, therefore, an event capable of revealing the meaning of the Good News and the very life of God. Through its rhythms, languages and rites, the liturgy forms part of the very journey of conversion and preparation for the sacraments.”

Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to be genuinely welcoming, especially to those carrying an emotional burden into the Church. He encouraged a “style of closeness, compassion and tenderness” and to “listen to them, while also encouraging them to face the challenging demands of the faith.”

Recalling St. Augustine, “one of the most famous catechumens in history” — a line of the papal speech received with a cordial laugh — the pope said the patron saint of his order “was introduced to the faith by St. Ambrose, and his faith was but a tiny seed when he was baptized. Yet, that seed grew and multiplied, becoming a tree so large that, even today, we can find shelter beneath its branches.”

“Looking at you, dear catechumens and newly baptized persons, I see not only the fruits of the Holy Spirit, who set you on this path, but also the promise of fruitfulness for the Church in France,” he concluded. “In turn, be missionaries of the Gospel in this society!”

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Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.