Six million turn out for Pope in Manila
Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippine capital Sunday, a triumphant finale to an Asian tour in which he championed the plight of the poor.
Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippine capital Sunday, a triumphant finale to an Asian tour in which he championed the plight of the poor.
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This overhead view shows millions of faithful attending a mass at a park by Pope Francis during his visit to Manila on January 18, 2015. Pope Francis celebrated mass with millions of singing and cheering Catholics in the Philippine capital on January 18, in one of the world's biggest outpourings of papal devotion. AFP PHOTO
Pope attracts world-record crowd in wet Philippines
Manila, Jan 18, 2015, AFP – Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippine capital Sunday, a triumphant finale to an Asian tour in which he championed the plight of the poor.
Filipinos are famous for practising a passionate brand of Catholicism and they turned out in a celebratory mood that defied the gloomy skies, determined to see the charismatic 78-year-old pontiff.
Francis made an exhilarating entrance to a Manila bayside park for the mass aboard a "popemobile" that was styled after the nation's iconic, flamboyant and much-loved "jeepney" minibus.
Pope Francis greets the crowd from his "popemobile" that was styled after the nation's much-loved "jeepney" minibus. AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
Dressed in a plastic yellow poncho, he waved and smiled to wildly cheering crowds, stopping repeatedly so he could lean over barriers and kiss babies, before reaching the sea of believers at Rizal Park.
The Philippines is famed as the Catholic Church's bastion in Asia, with 80 percent of the former Spanish colony following the faith.
But even the pope was stunned at the size of the crowd which he looked out on from the stage.
Pope Francis (C) walks during the mass at a park in Manila. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE
Six million turned out to see the pope at the park and along motorcade routes, the head of Manila's planning agency, Francis Tolentino, told AFP, adding this was based on calculations done with the police.
This surpassed the previous world record for a papal gathering of five million during a mass by John Paul II at the same venue in 1995.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Sunday's crowd could even reach seven million. However he did not have any firm assessments to base this on.
Perla Ponce, 76, a retired nurse who travelled hundreds of kilometres from her home in the southern Philippines, said she felt "euphoric" to have seen the pope and been a part of the mass.
"You can't describe the feeling. It's just like you have met Jesus Christ himself," a rain-soaked but beaming Ponce told AFP.
A Catholic nun holding a religious statue attends the mass celebrated by Pope Francis at a park in Manila. AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
In his homily, the pope praised Filipinos for their reverence.
"The Philippines is the foremost Catholic country in Asia. This is itself a special gift of God, a blessing," the pontiff told the vast crowd.
He also spoke out against "poverty, ignorance and corruption", a theme he has focused on repeatedly during his five-day visit to the Philippines.
In his first speech of his tour, at the presidential palace, Francis lectured the nation's politicians to show integrity and end "scandalous social inequalities".
About 25 million Filipinos, or one quarter of the population, live on the equivalent of 60 cents a day or less, according to government data.
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