The pontiff chose Metz, a city long shaped by Europe’s shifting borders and conflicts, to honour Robert Schuman, the French Catholic statesman who became one of the architects of European integration after the Second World War. At a gathering titled “At the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity”, Leo met European leaders and senior figures including confirmed Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and former European Commission president Jean‑Claude Juncker.