Morning opening: Pope Leo to deliver major speech on Europe in Metz
Jakub Krupa
Pope Leo is expected to deliver a major speech on Europe’s role in the world as he wraps up his four-day trip to France, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people in Paris and Lourdes over the weekend.
On Saturday,
“Hundreds of thousands of people lined the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris on Saturday to attend an open-air mass with Pope Leo, on the second day of his visit to France.
The Vatican estimated 700,000 people turned out for the outdoor mass with the 71-year-old American pope – about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered to attend.”
On Sunday, he “has called on the Catholic church to heal ‘deep wounds’ and ‘painful errors’, before meeting survivors of child sexual abuse.”
“Leo met seven survivors of child sexual abuse by French clergy privately on Sunday after leading an open-air morning mass at Lourdes, one of the most popular Catholic sites for pilgrims and reputed as a place of healing.
The survivors said the pope had listened to them, was informed of their cases and said more work was needed to respond to the scandal.”
On his final day in France, Leo is now expected to take part in a meeting “At the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity” at the Robert Schuman Centre in Metz.
A former French foreign minister and a devout Catholic, Schuman was one of the key European leaders and founders of what has now become the European Union, after his 1950 Schuman declaration brought to life a European Coal and Steel Community. There are regular calls for his beatification, with Pope Francis putting him on the path – a very long path – in 2021.
The pope is expected to talk about Europe’s history, the need for peace in Ukraine, and warns against rising nationalism. France’s Emmanuel Macron invited representatives from all EU member states to attend, although it’s not clear who will actually be there in the audience.
I will bring you all the key lines here.
Elsewhere, I will bring you all the updates from EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels, Ukraine and across the continent.
It’s Monday, 28 September 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
‘These talks show that Russia is really not interested in peace at all,’ Kallas says
EU’s Kallas also responds to German foreign minister Johann Wadephul’s talks with Russia’s chief diplomat, Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the UN week.
She says there was many countries outside Europe that seem to believe that simply talking to Russia would resolve all problems.
“These talks show that Russia is really not interested in peace, at all. Otherwise you don’t treat your negotiation partner … this way,” she says in response to Lavrov’s comments ridiculing Germany after the meeting.
She continues:
“Russia needs to show, by stopping the attacks on civilians, that they are interested in peace, which they are not.
And then they need to talk to Ukraine because it’s between, Ukraine and Russia. Everybody else can facilitate this process, but in the end, they need to agree.”
Asked about the details of the new protocol, Kallas says it was “the first discussion on it, very initial,” with further talks needed.
“So, clearly, there were some who were saying that, that we need some kind of mechanism for anything under the armed aggression threshold, which is Article 42.7 [of EU treaties], but many stressed that it has to be absolutely complimentary with Nato, so we do not create anything additional; this has to work hand in hand.”
EU discusses ‘new emergency security protocol’, Kallas says
Kallas also says that Russia’s “sustained acts of sabotage, airspace and airspace violations persist,” prompting the EU to “look into what more we can do.”
Defence ministers discussed a new “emergency security protocol,” which could “provide a coordination mechanism to respond to grey zone attacks” and “complement” existing arrangements.
She also says there was some discussion on the situation in the strait of Hormuz and the Middle East more broadly.
EU needs to ‘rearm more quickly’ to meet its 2030 targets, Kallas says
Kallas is speaking now – and her comments are in stark contrast with the message of Pope Leo earlier (no value judgment here)
She talks about the EU’s efforts for strengthening its “defend readiness,” and says “Europe needs to rearm more quickly and more effectively to meet our target of 2030.”
“Europe needs decisive change in the scale and pace of defence investment, capability development, innovation and industrial capacity,” she says.
She also talks about the need to help Ukraine with missile productions and air defence to protect itself from attacks by Russia.
Jakub Krupa
We will be pivoting away from Pope Leo’s visit to France as he moves on to the final few elements of his programme (and further talks with Macron) before leaving for Rome later tonight.
Meanwhile in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is about to speak about this morning’s meeting of the bloc’s defence ministers in which they discussed a few things, including the growing threat from Russia.
I will keep an eye on what she says.
Pope Leo’s calls for ‘new and creative’ rediscovery of continent’s roots to respond to challenges – summary
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Pope Leo has urged young Europeans to “not give in to the mentality of violence and oppression” as Europe is “entering a new stage in its long history,” responding to unprecedented migration and the return of war to the European continent (12:18, 12:21).
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He reiterated his compassionate message on migration, calling for “legal and safe pathways” and fight against traffickers, and called for “patient dialogue” and “courage in negotiations” to end wars.
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His comments are likely to attract attention with a direct call to be “willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace,” without offering more detail on what he meant by that.
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Celebrating Europe’s postwar integration, Pope Leo also urged European leaders to push back against the culture of “boasting of lies and deceit” by drawing on its history based on “the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve,” as he warned that relations between people and states were “increasingly uncivilised.”
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Throughout the speech, the pope also drew on Europe’s Christian heritage, arguing for its contemporary relevance and rediscovery in “new and creative ways” in the ever-changing world.
‘Europe will continue to flourish and to inspire the world,’ Pope Leo tells young Europeans
Pope Leo ends his speech with a direct call to younger Europeans, as he says:
“Do not give in to the mentality of violence and oppression. Love life at every moment and do not be afraid of the future. Don’t be afraid to start a family, to bring children into the world, to defend the dignity of every person. From the moment of conception to natural death. Do not be afraid to work tirelessly for the good of your communities, including through political engagement. …
Europe, firmly rooted in its heritage, will continue to flourish and to inspire the whole world.”
He gets a standing ovation.
Pope Leo talks about migration, war and daily effort to preserve peace
Pope Leo continues by talking about the need to rediscover Europe’s roots, before moving to current issues.
He says “contemporary Europe is now entering a new stage in its long history, … with the arrival on the continent of so many men and women fleeing war and persecution, or seeking a better life.”
Turning to migration, he recalls his comments during a recent trip to Spain as he said that “human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious processes of reception and integration.”
He then says that “today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe,” with “a new senseless slaughter claiming countless civilian lives every day.”
He calls for “patient dialogue” and “courage in negotiation,” and to “be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace.”
Not entirely sure what he means by that in practice, though.
He then repeats his warning – first expressed on Friday – against “the illusion that rearmament is the answer,” as he says “promoting peace is an active task.”
In his regular criticism of world leaders, Pope Leo also warns that “relations between people and states are becoming increasingly uncivilised.”
“The value of keeping one’s word is dismissed. Instead, people boast of lies and deceit. Europe can help break this cycle through the respect for others that is learned to cultivate and preserve.”
He adds:
“Over the last 80 years, Europe has amply demonstrated that it is possible to articulate diverse opinions, divergent opinions, claims and interests through encounter rather than conflict.”
In a key recurring theme of his speech, he says:
“Europe will not be made once, nor according to a single master plan of construction … We must never lose our confidence in our ability to move forward, even when the steps we take are small and almost unnoticed.
The modern desire to have everything right away does not fit with European history and culture, which instead teaches the value of time and patience is through small steps that we can bring to life.”
Pope Leo begins by paying tribute to Robert Schuman, which he says “drew the inspiration to help shape the Europe of today and tomorrow.”
He says he wants to talk about “a journey that begins from the roots of Europe, moves through the present and looks toward the future.”
He says “Europe gradually developed a sense of its own identity over the course of the historical periods of Hellenistic civilisation, the Roman empire, and then the spread of Christianity, integrating over time new cultures, including the Germanic and Slavic culture, expanding to encompass ever larger regions.”
“Europe must therefore be understood as a cultural and historical reality before a geographical one.”
He says that through its “long and turbulent” history, Europe has always “flourished and progressed,” learning from its experience.
He then extensively talks about Christian roots of Europe, speaking about the values of fraternity, respect for the law inherited from previous generations, and the love of beauty refined over the centuries.
Pope Leo’s speech is preceded by a short video on the postwar reconciliation and the EU’s history, as the orchestra plays the EU’s anthem.
He’s up to speak now.
EU ‘more essential then ever’ to respond to challenges of the changing world, Macron says
Macron talks about the history of European integration presenting it as a response to the horrors of the second world war and the Holocaust.
But he also notes that European integration was a process “built upon another principle cherished by the Church’s tradition: the principle of subsidiarity.”
He says:
“This is a principle of freedom that protects the capacity of the smallest entity to act, while requiring the larger entity to respect that autonomy and provide support when the smaller one’s own resources are no longer sufficient. It is a principle that defines the true nature of our Europe: not a power that obliterates nations, but a force that extends and enhances their capacity to act.”
He says for two millennia “Europe dreamed of unity” and hails the EU as “a unique invention” that is “more essential than ever” as “the world has changed,” with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and “the resurgence of empires.”
“Schuman wrote that world peace cannot be safeguarded without creative efforts commensurate with the dangers threatening it. Now that the scale of these dangers has shifted, our efforts for peace must rise to the challenge,” he says.
He says the EU’s continued support for Ukraine should be seen in this context.
The French president also speaks about the need to “rise to the challenges” the continent faces, including on Europe’s competitiveness and its response to the dangers of technology, including AI (and he elegantly recalls Pope Leo’s encyclical on this topic).
He ends on this note:
“Here in Metz, we are delighted to welcome you, Holy Father, to hear you and to learn from you. For here lies the age-old heart of Europe – a Europe that protects, unites, and takes action; a sovereign and democratic Europe driven by a vision of peace and prosperity; a Europe that must rediscover the courage of its founders.
The courage to become the power for peace, independence, and democracy that it is meant to be; the courage to resist turning inward, hating the other, and succumbing to the resurgence of divisive nationalism.”
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, head the Bishops’ Conference of France (CEF), speaks next.
I will skip his speech, but come back to it when Leo stands up to speak.
Macron introduces Pope Leo ahead of major Metz speech on Europe
With a bit of delay, the event finally gets under way, and Macron – looks like he will be with Pope Leo all day long, after all! (10:33) – is now delivering the formal welcome.
He talks about Metz’s special place in European history (10:12):
“It was on this part of Lorraine, scarred by history, a land long contested, conquered and reconquered, that the French Franco-German reconciliation was built, becoming the cornerstone of European integration.”
He says that with more and more countries willing to join the EU, “there is surely no greater endorsement of our European Union than this desire to belong to a shared area of peace, security, democracy and prosperity.”
“75 years on, our Europe has taken firm root. It has weathered crises and always managed to confront them through a renewed sense of unity emerging from them, greater and stronger.”
