On September 25, 2026, President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Pope Leo XIV to the Élysée Palace as the Pope opened his apostolic journey to France. Their talks covered climate change, artificial intelligence, the war in Ukraine, and peace in the Middle East.
Pope Leo called on France to remain “a tireless artisan of peace and multilateralism.” President Macron affirmed that France stands “on the side of peace, active multilateralism, respect for international law and the United Nations Charter.”
On AI, the Pope warned: “If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment.”
Paris answered with two extraordinary gatherings. That evening, some 80,000 young people filled the Stade de France for a prayer vigil. The next day, according to Vatican estimates, 800,000 people gathered at the Place de la Concorde and along the Champs-Élysées for an open-air Mass.
The Boston Global Forum honored President Macron with the 2024 World Leader for Peace and Security Award at Harvard’s Loeb House, recognizing his mediation in international conflicts, his leadership in strengthening Europe as a force for peace, and his advancement of artificial intelligence. The meeting in Paris brought together the concerns at the heart of that recognition, and of AIWS: peace built through dialogue, and technology that serves human dignity under human command.
Benoît Tessier/Pool Reuters/AP