Pope Leo XIV Is the Leader of the Free World

Eighty-two years after his father landed at Normandy, the American pope drew 800,000 people to the Champs-Élysées and asked Europe to hold together. Washington left the job open, and Leo took it.

Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile on the Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe behind him, on his way to celebrate Mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on Sept. 26, 2026. The Vatican estimated the crowd at 800,000. (Gregorio Borgia / AP)

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