Pope Leo has called on French bishops to root out the “scourge” of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church, telling them to “maintain the greatest vigilance”, ahead of a meeting with abuse survivors.

The Pope delivered the message to bishops during a private meeting at the Sanctuary of Our Holy Lady of Lourdes, a holy site in southern France, on the third day of his four-day official visit to France.

A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as children in France over 70 years.

The Pope said Mass in front of thousands of worshippers in Lourdes, before he was scheduled to meet survivors of abuse privately later.

Before giving Mass the Pope told the bishops: “You have faced with determination the painful scourge of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy or within an ecclesial context.

“It is important to persevere along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance.”

The gathering of senior church leaders was held behind closed doors and the remarks were later released to reporters.

The Lourdes gathering came a day after an estimated 700,000 people flocked to the Place de la Concorde in Paris to hear the pontiff speak.

Huge crowds cheered and waved as he rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue greeting followers from his open-topped popemobile.

On Friday, the Pope also met French President Emmanuel Macron.