The 27 million euros corresponds to the budget announced by the Church of France for organising the visit: hospitality, logistics, technical facilities and the organisation of gatherings. Its funding relies mainly on donations and sponsorship. As of 22 September, around 8 million euros had already been raised. The State, however, is responsible for public safety, an expense that will also need to be taken into account when assessing the true cost of the event.
The expected turnout gives an idea of the scale of the phenomenon. Nearly 600,000 people have registered for the Mass on 26 September in Paris. Around 80,000 participants are expected at the vigil at the Stade de France and 150,000 in Lourdes. In Metz, local estimates suggest between 50,000 and 100,000 people will be in the city. Adding all these figures together would be misleading, as some worshippers will attend several events and some of the public already live in the area. Nevertheless, the event is set to generate several hundred thousand journeys.
The hotel sector is already providing an initial indication. In Paris, the average price recorded for the night of 26 September stands at 288 euros, compared with 191 euros for the same period in 2025, according to Kayak data cited by Aleteia – an increase of around 50 per cent. For the previous night, the average rose from 196 to 255 euros. This does not mean that the Pope alone accounts for the entire increase: hotel rates vary due to numerous factors. But the surge in demand around the time of his visit is very real.
In Lourdes, more than 90 per cent of rooms were already booked by the end of August for the two nights coinciding with Pope Leo XIV’s visit. Airbnb searches relating to this period are reported to have risen by 610 per cent year-on-year, to the extent that some visitors are having to find accommodation in Tarbes or Pau. Metz is experiencing the same surge: a 194 per cent rise in searches on Airbnb, a 306 per cent rise on Booking.com, hotels fully booked several weeks in advance and, in some establishments, prices quadrupling.
Transport services are also benefiting from this one-off influx. Transport provision in the Île-de-France region must be stepped up to cope with the influx from Paris, and some dioceses have specially chartered trains. Some 20,000 people are expected to travel to Lourdes by rail, where additional services are planned. Metz will also benefit from additional TER services and increased capacity. Whether by train, coach, metro, petrol or tolls, the pilgrims’ journey in itself generates economic activity.
The same applies to restaurants and shops. Someone travelling several hundred kilometres to attend the event will often have a meal, have a drink, use public transport and perhaps buy a souvenir or spend the night there. In Lourdes, the shops have already prepared for the event. A local workshop had delivered more than 50,000 items dedicated to Louis XIV by mid-August. Metz is also counting on the influx of visitors for its bars, restaurants and shops.
This leaves the central question: how much money might actually be spent as a result of this visit?
For the moment, no one has a consolidated figure. We can, however, test a few hypotheses. Let us suppose that 300,000 people constitute genuine additional visitors, that is to say, they would not have incurred these expenses had the Pope not come. With an average spend of 100 euros per person, this represents 30 million euros in economic activity. With 150 euros, it amounts to 45 million. With 200 euros, the figure rises to 60 million.
Assuming 500,000 additional visitors, the figure rises to 50 million euros based on an average spend of 100 euros, 75 million with 150 euros and, theoretically, €100 million if each person spends an average of €200 on accommodation, food, transport and shopping.
This calculation is not an economic forecast. It serves solely to illustrate the possible scale of the figures. Above all, 100 million euros spent in France does not equate to 100 million euros earned by the State. This sum would be shared amongst hotels, restaurants, transport operators, shops and other businesses. The public purse would recoup only a fraction of this through VAT, taxes, contributions and other levies.
We must also consider the other side of the coin. Security measures, enhanced transport services, mobilised public sector staff, infrastructure works and traffic restrictions all come at a cost. Some businesses located in the most heavily secured areas might even lose customers. To ascertain the true economic impact of these four days, we will therefore have to wait until the event is over.
One final benefit will be even more difficult to measure: media exposure. Metz is a good example of this. The city will be featured for several hours across many countries. Its mayor, François Grosdidier, emphasises this international visibility, whilst visitor numbers to the cathedral had already risen by 8 to 10 per cent before the Pope’s arrival. If this exposure subsequently leads to new tourist visits to Metz, Lourdes or Paris, part of the economic impact will continue beyond 28 September.
The paradox is therefore quite simple. We already know how much the Church plans to spend on hosting Pope Leo XIV: 27 million euros. We do not yet know what his presence will actually generate for the French economy. But the full occupancy of hotels, the rise in bookings, the extra trains, the mobilisation of restaurants and the hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend all suggest that the sums involved could run into tens of millions of euros.
After Pope Leo XIV’s departure on 28 September, we will therefore need to look beyond the images of crowds and the attendance figures. We will need to do the maths.
Because, clearly, a pope also boosts the economy.
