The four-day visit that begins tomorrow, Friday 24 September, his first as Pope to the country once known as “the eldest daughter of the Church”, comes at a trying time for France. The Church has lost much of the influence it once had. Politics is in flux. The main question is whether farright leader Marine Le Pen will win next year’s presidential election. Society is sullen, as pressure for serious belt-tightening mounts but few seem ready to actually do it.
Get Instant Access
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £37.50 quarterly
Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login

MOST READ ARTICLES
1
Pope returns to Vatican after hospital discharge
2
Diverse schools that are 100 per cent Catholic
3
Under endless skies
4
Battling confession fatigue
5
Nigerian bishop scorns suggestion of running in presidential election
6
Schismatic Spanish nuns strip contents of convent before eviction
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK