法国天主教徒若要寻找类似重要性的活动，需将目光回溯至近30年前的1997年世界青年日。9月25日至28日，教皇利奥十四世将访问法国，此次宗座出访在天主教信众中引发了热烈反响，并要求教会官员和公共当局制定重大的后勤计划。什么是“宗座出访”？
French Catholics would have to look back to the 1997 World Youth Day, nearly 30 years ago, to find an event of similar importance. From September 25 to 28, Pope Leo XIV will be visiting France, in an apostolic journey that has generated excitement among the Catholic faithful and required Church officials and public authorities to draw up significant logistical plans. What is an 'apostolic journey'?
教皇既是国家元首——梵蒂冈城国——也是全球信仰社区——天主教会——的最高领袖。由于这种独特地位，他访问法国的行程并不完全等同于通常涉及寻求更紧密合作的两国之间的国事访问。相反，根据教会术语，这被称为“宗座出访”。
The pope is both a head of state – Vatican City – and the highest leader of a global faith community – the Catholic Church. Due to this unique status, his trip to France does not fall under the exact same classification as a state visit, which typically involves two nations that seek closer cooperation. Instead, according to Church terminology, it is an "apostolic journey."
“宗座”一词直接源自“使徒”，意指受命传播耶稣教导的追随者。天主教电视节目《主日》（Le Jour du Seigneur）的网站写道：“教皇（……）作为特使，比任何人都更直接地继承了这一使命”，并解释说，宗座出访“涉及圣座的权威，同时具有牧灵[对信众的支持]、外交、大公[涉及基督教社区间对话]和象征意义等维度”。您已阅读完本文的77.55%。其余部分仅供订阅用户阅读。
The term "apostolic" directly stems from the word "apostle," meaning a follower tasked with spreading the teachings of Jesus. "The pope (…) inherits, more than anyone else, this mission as an envoy," writes the website of the Catholic television program Le Jour du Seigneur, which explains that an apostolic journey "involves the authority of the Holy See and, at the same time, has pastoral [support for the faithful], diplomatic, ecumenical [relating to dialogue between Christian communities] and symbolic dimensions." You have 77.55% of this article left to read. The rest is forrs only.