French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Leo XIV shake hands attend a meeting titled ‘At the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity’ at the Robert Schuman convention center in Metz, September 28, 2026, as part of Pope Leo’s four-day apostolic journey to France. Photo: OSV News / Remo Casilli, Reuters. When Pope Leo XIV arrived in the City of Lights, in the country once known as the “eldest daughter of the Church,” he was not met by screaming hordes exclaiming with fury, “Écrasez I’infâme!”—often translated as “crush the loathsome thing.” Indeed, this phrase was directed mostly at the Roman Catholic Church by the Jesuit-educated firebrand…
