Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to embark on a four-day visit to France next month and will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during the trip, the Vatican said Friday.

The pontiff's itinerary also includes engagements at UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes, and an interreligious gathering in the border city of Metz.

A separate, brief statement from the Vatican underscored the significance of the meeting with several abuse survivors and noted that the victims themselves will be actively involved in its preparations. The specific timing and location for this encounter are yet to be disclosed.

The meeting follows a similar gathering Leo held with six abuse survivors during his recent trip to Spain, where the Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun to confront its long-standing legacy of abuse and cover-up.

In France, a 2021 report estimated that 330,000 children had been sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel. The pontiff signaled his commitment to addressing clergy sexual abuse last month by appointing French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission.

The September 25-28 France trip, initially confirmed in May, marks Leo’s fourth international journey this year. His previous travels include a day trip to Monaco in March, visits to four African nations in April, and a tour of Spain and the Canary Islands in June.

The Vatican also recently confirmed his inaugural trip to Latin America as pontiff in November, with stops planned for Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, where he served for over three decades.

Leo’s visit will commence on Sept. 25 in Paris, where he is slated to meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. He will address authorities, civil society representatives, and the diplomatic corps before delivering a speech at the headquarters of UNESCO, the U.N. culture agency. The day will conclude with vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.

On the second day, the pontiff will emphasize social inclusion, active participation, and new converts. He will visit the Maison Bakhita center for social support and integration, followed by a meeting with a synodal assembly that involves laypeople in church matters, as well as recently baptized Catholics.

Later, he will travel to Lourdes, a pivotal Catholic pilgrimage site, to pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions and meet staff and sick individuals at the Accueil Notre-Dame. His visit to Lourdes will culminate in one of its signature rites: the Rosary and torchlight procession through the sanctuary.

The trip will conclude in Metz, near the Luxembourg and German border, where Leo will attend an interreligious meeting at a conference center named for Robert Schuman, a French statesman considered one of the founding fathers of European integration. Schuman, a Catholic, was declared "venerable" in 2021, a step in the Catholic sainthood process.

Unlike his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, who largely avoided major European Christian centers during his 12-year pontificate, Pope Leo appears to be dedicating more attention to the experiences of the European faithful.

Francis visited France twice, but neither was a state visit to Paris. He made a day trip to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe, and later visited the port city of Marseille for a conference on migration in 2023.