Pope Leo XIV to see the Holy Tunic at vigil with 80,000 young people in France

Pope Leo XIV will visit France, and his trip includes a vigil with young people on the night of September 25 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. About 80,000 people between the ages of 17 and 35 are expected, and registration filled up quickly after it opened. At the end of the ceremony, the Holy Tunic of Christ, a relic of the Passion, will be displayed fully unfolded.

The Holy Tunic, held to be the seamless tunic Jesus wore during his Passion according to the Gospel account, has been kept at the Basilica of Saint-Denys in Argenteuil, just outside Paris, for more than 1,200 years. According to documented tradition, the relic reached France in the time of Emperor Charlemagne, around the year 800, as a gift from Empress Irene of Athens. She gave it to her daughter, the abbess of the monastery of Argenteuil, on August 12 of that year. It is shown to the public only on solemn occasions, generally once every 50 years. The last display ran from April 18 to May 11, 2025, for the Jubilee of Hope, and drew hundreds of thousands of faithful from across Europe.

The tunic survived Viking raids and the French Revolution, when it was cut into pieces to protect it, and it has left Argenteuil only at moments of grave crisis or during jubilee celebrations. Father Guy-Emmanuel Cariot, the former rector of the Argenteuil basilica, said that after St. Peter, Leo XIV will be the first pope to see the Holy Tunic. "I had invited the pope to come to Argenteuil," Cariot said, "but it was not possible, which disappointed me. But during the summer the organizing team asked me to bring the Tunic to the Stade de France."

How the vigil will unfold

The vigil will open with a musical prologue by several well-known artists, followed by testimonies from young people, a question-and-answer session with the pope and an extended period of silent prayer. The Holy Tunic will stay covered through the first half of the gathering. It will be uncovered in the final 20 minutes, leaving time for silence and prayer before the relic.

Leo XIV is expected to arrive at the stadium around 9 p.m., where the bishop of Saint-Denis will receive him. The gathering is planned mainly as a meeting between the pope and young people. His visit to France will also include a Mass in Paris, as well as Masses in Lourdes on September 26 and 27 and in Metz.

A relic of the Passion

The Holy Tunic of Argenteuil is counted among the main relics of the Passion of Christ, along with the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo. The Gospels mention the seamless tunic in the account of the crucifixion: "They took my tunic and cast lots for it" (John 19:23-24). Over the centuries, scientific studies have identified traces of blood and chemical elements consistent with the Jerusalem region in the first century, though the question of authenticity remains subject to the Church's discernment.

The tunic's history in France begins with the diplomatic gift from Empress Irene of Athens to Charlemagne around the year 800. He handed it at once to his daughter, the abbess, for safekeeping at the monastery of Argenteuil. The relic has remained in the French basilica for more than 12 centuries, venerated by millions of faithful who made pilgrimages to the shrine through the medieval and modern periods.

A new reliquary for the vigil

The monumental reliquary in the Argenteuil basilica cannot be moved from the shrine for structural reasons. A new portable reliquary has been designed for the occasion, so the tunic can be taken to the Stade de France without putting its preservation at risk. The shrine's new rector, Father Jean-Eudes Gilbert, who took up the post on September 1, 2026, said along with Cariot that they were glad and proud to be able to present the tunic of the Savior's Passion to Leo XIV.

"'That the world may have life' is the theme of the pope's visit to France: it is precisely at the heart of Christ's Passion that this life is given, poured out, so that the world may have life," the two rectors said. They closed with the invocation: "By your Holy Tunic, save me, Jesus!"