Pope Francis said opportunity can come by restoring “the pillars” on which the union was first founded.

Playing the religion card so openly is unusual in France, where the official separation of church and state is normally taken so seriously that politicians rarely if ever mention in public whether they have a faith or not.

Each forecasted outcome would have been mocked only a few years ago—yet today, neither is unthinkable.

The election is seen as a test of far-right populism ahead of national elections in far bigger European nations, France and Germany.

Catholicism in England and Wales is without question a minority faith.

Some estimates suggest that there could be as many as 90,000 unaccompanied refugee minors scattered across Europe.