Emmanuel Macron hosts Pope Leo XIV at the Élysée Palace

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Pope Leo XIV at the Élysée Palace on September 25, 2026, for a high-level diplomatic reception. The event honored the legacy of Saint Vincent de Paul, with the French state presenting the Pope with an original 1664 biography of the saint written by Louis Abelly.

Other gifts presented during the ceremony included a reproduction of a new stained-glass window for Notre-Dame de Paris, a copy of the Gospel of Mark encoded in synthetic DNA by the CNRS, and a magnetic ferrite cross by artist Lydie Arickx. During the event, the Pope met with various dignitaries, including journalist Stéphane Bern, to discuss the preservation of rural churches.

During the proceedings, visual attention was drawn to the lighting effects within the Élysée's Winter Garden. Due to the Daniel Buren art installation featuring blue, white, and red glass filters, President Macron was momentarily illuminated by a red light projection while the Pope remained under bright white light. This optical effect was attributed to the natural sunlight passing through the tricolor glass canopy.