Sr. Nathalie Becquart: Pope Leo’s Visit to France, a 'moment of grace'
By Deborah Castellano Lubov - Metz
“We are in a very secularized country, but Pope Leo has highlighted and given us, speaking also as French, really an awareness of our long history of faith in this country, and how Christianity has really shaped all of our history,” Sister Nathalie Becquart said, adding that the Pope has also “given hope for the future.”
The French-born Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops expressed this sentiment in an interview with Vatican News as Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Journey to France came to an end on Monday, after he had traveled to Paris, Lourdes, and Metz
During the conversation in Metz, Sr. Becquart described the journey as a “moment of grace,” highlighting the enthusiasm of those who came to encounter the Pope, the participation of young people and people with disabilities, and the Pope’s message of peace, reconciliation and hope for Europe.
In a special way, she suggested that through the Venerable Robert Schuman, "you can see concrete ways of what is possible."
Q: Now that Pope Leo's Apostolic Journey to France has come to an end, how would you assess its overall impact on the Church and on French society?
It's really a great gift for the French Church and also for our country, for France. We can feel such joy. I think so many people have been touched by what has happened. We can see that there was really a kind of encounter between Pope Leo and France, and between the Pope and so many people who were there. There was such mobilization and enthusiasm.
We are in a very secularized country, but Pope Leo has highlighted and given us, speaking also as French, really an awareness of our long history of faith in this country, and how Christianity has really shaped all of our history. At the same time, he recognized this while opening hope for the future, highlighting also how so many young people now are asking to be baptized and helping us, you know, just to be Christian amongst the others and to help the Church, yes, to continue the journey in this society.
I think it was really a gift because, like many other societies, especially in Europe, it's not an easy situation, with the international situation, so many divisions, and with the political and also economic situation. So, for so many people, it has really been a moment of joy, hope and feeling unity, as we really needed that.
It has been really a moment of grace, and we could see also how Pope Leo, I think, has been touched. We had beautiful celebrations. All the different moments were very well prepared in different ways.
I'm thinking of yesterday in Lourdes. That was really a very, very important moment, and it's really a place for people with disabilities, illness, so many people who are suffering in different ways, showing clearly, they could have a voice; they were at the center. The Pope also gave a very important speech in this context about the importance of the dignity of everyone, the dignity of life.
Today, with the European dimension, it was also, in the context of our country, to have together the President of the Republic, President Macron, the President of the Bishops' Conference, the Pope, of course, and so many different people in the room, with also the interreligious dimension, because they also delivered a commitment, one that's also highlighting the history of Europe, each one with his angle, but I think the fact that the Pope received that applause and received an ovation during such a time really speaks a lot. I believe that for everyone it has been a moment of grace.
Q: What do you hope will remain in France after Pope Leo's departure?
I think we can also really congratulate France. We didn't have very much time to prepare. So many people have been working, many behind the scenes. Everything went well, and it really is such a massive task to organize. But the good thing, including now, just at the end of the Mass, is that the gifts that were given to the Pope were prepared in a school by so many young people.
You realize that such a visit like this mobilizes so many people in many different ways. There were so many volunteers helping in each place, and so much preparation. You could see that so many people came because the Church is, first of all, relationships. It is a network, a network of dioceses and parishes.
The fact that you had so many young people in the Stade de France, for me, was already very significant. I've been serving in youth ministry here in France for ten years at the French Bishops' Conference, and I experienced this beautiful vigil in resonance also with World Youth Day in 1997.
We had been in Paris thirty years ago. That was also a kind of turning point for the French Church. I believe all we have experienced here is also, in a way, a kind of fruit of what, after World Youth Day, we have been able to do and to continue the journey.
This visit of the Pope will also be an historical moment like this. Really, you could feel that the Holy Spirit is there. The Holy Spirit will continue and there will be a lot of fruits, but I believe the people in France will need to take time also to process, because those were very intensive days. In my opinion, many people were really touched by the way Pope Leo is close to everyone, meeting also so many babies, people with disabilities, all kinds of people with such simplicity, closeness and authenticity. Many people are touched by that.
We can also highlight the group of victims and survivors who were listened to by the Pope. They were very, very touched by this deep listening. We also observe when the Pope is here among such a crowd and celebrating, that he is so peaceful. He has this inner peace, and it helps people to understand that we need to continue to work for peace.
That was the message from today and I believe it will really give strength, hope and confidence and light, you know, to continue the journey.
Q: You said that Pope Leo has this peaceful way that we notice, and he comes out often with the greeting "Peace be with you.” On the last day in Metz, in the city associated with Venerable Robert Schuman, what message do you believe Pope Leo wanted to send by including this important, though brief, moment in the Apostolic Journey?
I think the main message is that, especially because of the history of this region, so many people have suffered from three wars between France and Germany, and Robert Schuman, in his own life and in his family, experienced that. But he was a man of faith who was prophetic and had the intuition, just at the end of World War II, that we can't just continue with war, and that we need to find ways for peace and reconciliation.
So, the main message here, I think, is really to highlight that reconciliation is always possible if we believe in Christ, and we are called, as baptized people, to really embrace the Gospel message, which is a message of reconciliation and peace.
Through Robert Schuman, you can see concrete ways of what is possible. I think that was very important. And in the situation of Europe now, I think the Church has a very important duty to continue together to find ways for dialogue and peace. That, I would say, was a very important message that Pope Leo wanted to give, in a very symbolic and specific place, here.
