Bishop Reflects on Parish Social Action
September 25, 2026
Fr Peter Wygnanski reflects on a powerful celebration of Catholic faith after spending the weekend in Paris.
There is something about the great cities of the world that makes us think about the big questions.
I recall once travelling from Rome to Jerusalem via Istanbul, and that journey made me especially mindful, as I considered the monuments to history that those cities represent, of the great human story of which we all take some part. Paris, of course, is no exception to that rule. We recall how meaning was drawn, for example, from the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral after the fire of 2019. Its (or, as the French would say, “her”) new life from the ashes was significant far beyond the boundaries of the Diocese of Paris and the city itself.
That great cathedral, despite its magnificence, was not big enough to contain the 700,000 people who had gathered for Mass with Pope Leo. But the city itself provided a perfect backdrop for a profound expression of our Catholic faith. Shortly before Mass began, aerial footage from the helicopter was shown for the first time on the many big screens. As the crowd saw itself in its entirety for the first time, there were audible gasps throughout the gathering, and I even noticed tears in the eyes of the priests around me, not to mention my own. Who could not be moved by the sight? The great landmarks of the city, the key words of its own story, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, all underlined by a joyful, faithful humanity stretched along the Champs-Élysées.
In a mood of thinking about the big questions, I became acutely aware that there is nothing else in our human story that has this power to bring the world together in joy and hope, both young and old, the sick and the healthy, people from every ethnic background and culture. In his homily, Pope Leo explained the theological basis for this. We all have, within our human hearts, deep desires, and so much of what is wrong in the world arises when we try to answer those desires with things that ultimately cannot satisfy. Reflecting on the prophet Ezekiel, Pope Leo reminded us, then, that Jesus Christ alone is the source of that living water which can satisfy the great desires of our hearts.
The Church brings us together to that source of living water. We are gathered as the Church precisely when we all draw near to that same source of living water, made available to us through the sacraments, through the liturgy, and in encountering God and one another: in prayer, in worship, in the common life, and in generous service.
For a day, the heart of Paris became the biggest church in the world and we pray that, whilst the rose-scented incense has dissipated, the joy of the Gospel continues to be made present each day by those who gathered. As the French Church is emboldened by Pope Leo’s encouragement to bring all who thirst to the source of living water, may we too each share in that same grace.
