How France handles its strict secularism as it prepares for a papal visit

A four-day visit by Pope Leo XIV beginning Friday that will feature large public gatherings, popemobile parades and an open-air Mass in Paris presents France with a balancing act under its strict approach to secularism, known as laïcité.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction…”