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Story summary
- Pope Leo XIV celebrated mass on the Champs-Élysées, drawing an estimated 700,000 attendees.
- He rode a popemobile along a 2-kilometer route to Place de la Concorde before the mass.
- Adult baptisms reached 13,000 this year, three times 2016 levels.
- Secularists criticized the mass location, calling Place de la Concorde a republican symbol.
- About 80,000 young people attended a fireworks and history show at the national stadium the night before.