Huge crowds converged on a Manila park to see Pope Francis wrap up his Asian trip with an outdoor Mass expected to draw one of the largest crowds in Philippine history, and what is believed to be "the largest in the history of the popes".
Huge crowds converged on a Manila park to see Pope Francis wrap up his Asian trip with an outdoor Mass expected to draw one of the largest crowds in Philippine history.
Organisers say as many as six million people may attend the afternoon service at Manila's Rizal Park, more than the some five million who flocked to a Mass by Pope John Paul 20 years ago in Asia's largest Catholic country.
Faithful began arriving at the sprawling park on Saturday night to get good places and police expect the crowd to flow over into surrounding areas. About a dozen people were injured in a minor stampede when people rushed to get into the park, Johnny Yu of the Manila city disaster office said in a radio interview.
The Pope hugged a young girl who broke down in tears as she asked why people suffer - a question to which he said there was "no answer".
Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines culminated in a giant outdoor Mass - the largest-ever crowd for a papal event.