About 600,000 people registered for Saturday’s open-air Mass.
The Vatican says around 800,000 showed up — 200,000 more than expected.
That makes it the largest papal gathering in central Paris in a generation.
The last pope to celebrate Mass in the capital, Benedict XVI in 2008, drew about 240,000 at Les Invalides.
No pope had even visited Paris since then.
Crowds stretched from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde. Chants of “Leo, Leo” and “Long live the Pope” rolled down the avenue as the first American pope rode the popemobile, blessing babies and people with disabilities along the way.
At Place de la Concorde — a square that once saw kings executed and now stands as a symbol of the French Republic — Pope Leo told the sea of flags:
“Seeing you gathered here, heirs to France’s long and beautiful history of faith, I say to you: drink from the source that is the pierced heart of Jesus. Yes, you thirst for God, for life, for truth, for unity, for peace, for communion and for happiness.”
He prayed that “the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France.”
The turnout stunned a country that is officially secular and has seen church attendance fall for decades. Organizers had already widened the site last week after they realized demand was exploding.
About 14,500 police and security personnel locked down nearly 3 kilometers of central Paris.
Among those in the crowd: Brigitte Macron, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Marine Le Pen, and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. President Emmanuel Macron stayed away, citing France’s church-state separation.
After Mass, the Pope left for Lourdes.
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