A tropical storm that killed one papal volunteer forced the 78-year-old pontiff to cut short his visit to a typhoon-devastated island on Saturday, and rain is predicted for the Manila mass.
But storm-hardened Filipinos are famous for practising a passionate brand of Catholicism with huge numbers flocking to religious festivals, and millions had already descended on Manila’s streets on Sunday morning.
"We are devotees of the pope," Bernie Nacario, 53, told AFP as he stood amid a torrent of people with his wife and two young children, hoping to reach the park where the pontiff will give mass.
"The pope is an instrument of the Lord and if you are able to communicate with him, it is just like talking to God himself."
Nacario said he was a long-time arthritis sufferer, but today his pain had disappeared.
"It is as if the Lord has cured my ailment."
Catholic Church organisers said they were preparing for a crowd of up to six million, despite forecasts of rain for early evening when the pope is due to give mass at a giant park.
While there were no early official estimates of the crowd, aerial footage displayed on television showed masses of people surrounding the park area and others where the pope would travel earlier in the day.
If the turnout is as big as expected, the crowd would surpass the previous record for a papal gathering of five million during a mass by John Paul II at the same venue in 1995.
A tropical storm that killed one papal volunteer forced the 78-year-old pontiff to cut short his visit to a typhoon-devastated island on Saturday, and rain is predicted for the Manila mass.But storm-hardened Filipinos are famous for practising a passionate brand of Catholicism with huge numbers flocking to religious festivals, and millions had already descended on Manila’s streets on Sunday morning."We are devotees of the pope," Bernie Nacario, 53, told AFP as he stood amid a torrent of people with his wife and two young children, hoping to reach the park where the pontiff will give mass."The pope is an instrument of the Lord and if you are able to communicate with him, it is just like talking to God himself."Nacario said he was a long-time arthritis sufferer, but today his pain had disappeared."It is as if the Lord has cured my ailment."Catholic Church organisers said they were preparing for a crowd of up to six million, despite forecasts of rain for early evening when the pope is due to give mass at a giant park.While there were no early official estimates of the crowd, aerial footage displayed on television showed masses of people surrounding the park area and others where the pope would travel earlier in the day.If the turnout is as big as expected, the crowd would surpass the previous record for a papal gathering of five million during a mass by John Paul II at the same venue in 1995.
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