A group gathers around a table in the courtyard of the Church of Saint-Séverin, tucked away in Paris’s Latin Quarter just a stone’s throw from the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Cups of coffee, snacks and water are being handed out as Laure D’Haussy struggles to fold a paper fortune-teller. The group is mostly made up of young people aged 18 to 35, who aim to share the gospel“creatively” in public spaces.
When news came of Pope Leo XIV making a historic visit to Paris, members of Anuncio decided to seize the opportunity and organise an _ad gentes_ evangelist mission. Read moreLeo XIV opens France visit with Paris 'popemobile' ride, warnings of AI threat to humanity Beyond the walls of the church, balconies and sidewalks along the Boulevard Saint-Germain are littered with the Vatican’s yellow and white colours. Police vans and metal fences cordon off vast areas of the neighbourhood, ensuring there is full control of who comes and goes to see Leo XIV parade the streets of Paris on his first-ever visit to the capital as pope.
I want people to talk to each other more. I hope this visit brings people together.” Read morePope Leo XIV to trace back French ancestry, spiritual roots on visit to France Now about 30 strong, the congregation splits into two separate groups. The larger portion, seasoned members who have already gone on missions to spread the gospel, set up a circle of chairs at the rear end of the courtyard next to a beaming white statue of mother Mary and baby Jesus.
Anuncio members give a workshop on spreading the gospel. © Lara Bullens, France 24 A handful of others gather to learn the ropes, with members Jean-Philibert and Thérèse giving out instructions from a handbook. Anuncio's growth coincides with a revival of baptisms in France. A record 13,000 adults and 8,000 teenagers were baptised last Easter, according to numbers published by the Catholic Church.
Between 2015 and 2022, the total number of people baptised stood at around 4,000 per year. But in its bones France is still a secular nation, where the separation of church and state is enshrined in the 1905 “_laicité_” (secularism) law. And despite the baptism boom, the country has witnessed a steadydecline in affiliation with the Catholic Church for decades.
Read moreFrom TikTok to church pews, France's Catholic influencers find a new flock Before filtering out into crowds eager to see Pope Leo XIV, the group enters the church to pray together. A band has set up in the chancel, with two young men plucking at guitar strings and a third accompanying them on his keyboard. D’Haussy leads the prayer, her words punctuated by music.
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