The announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France has raised a wave of enthusiasm and hope throughout the country and within the Church, and has also attracted the attention of the political world to this event, especially since the publication of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
We, RSHM, join in this movement of welcome, which is being expressed within the Christian communities to which we belong. We are following with interest all that the media, particularly Christian media, are publishing on the occasion of this papal visit. Our attention was especially drawn to one of the places the Holy Father is due to visit: the city of Metz, in the Moselle region. It is in this territory, marked by the painful history of wars, that the European Union was born and where reconciliation was made possible. There, on 28 September, a cardinal, an imam, a pastor, a Buddhist representative, an Orthodox bishop and a rabbi will stand alongside the Pope and together proclaim an “interreligious appeal”, which will be signed by the Pope. This declaration will strongly reaffirm “the importance of interreligious dialogue, the responsibility of religions in building a more fraternal society, and the inclusion of this commitment within a broader framework, such as the safeguarding of creation.” (La Croix, 18 September 2026)
In our world shattered by wars and injustices, and in our divided French society, this shared and meaningful initiative reminds us of the need for listening and mutual respect in order to build a world of peace. It awakens and renews in us what we affirmed during our last General Chapter: “Like Mary, woman of faith, we risk the new with audacity, embracing our vulnerability, and encouraging our dreams. Impelled by the love of Jesus Christ, we strive to create communion, so that all may have life.”
Sisters Marie-France and Myriam
Hauts de France
