MANILA // Pope Francis celebrated mass with six million Catholics in the Philippine capital on Sunday, breaking a previous record for the world's biggest outpouring of papal devotion.
The mass came on the final full day of the pope's five-day visit to the Philippines and proved a triumphant finale for an Asian tour that also took in Sri Lanka.
Rain fell steadily in Manila during the hours before the mass but Filipinos are famous for practising a passionate brand of Catholicism and they turned out in a joyous mood that defied the stormy skies.
The 78-year-old pontiff thrilled crowds on his way to the mass venue, travelling along a motorcade route in a "popemobile" styled after the country's iconic minibuses known as jeepneys.
The pontiff, dressed in a plastic yellow disposable poncho, waved and smiled to cheering crowds that were 20 people-deep. The popemobile stopped repeatedly so Pope Francis could lean over barriers and kiss babies.
"The Philippines is the foremost Catholic country in Asia," Pope Francis told the vast crowd. "This is itself a special gift of God, a blessing."
"But it is also a vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia."
The pope also spoke out against "poverty, ignorance and corruption", a theme he has previously drawn on during his visit to the Philippines. In a speech to open the trip, Pope Francis lectured the nation's politicians on ending "scandalous social inequalities".
The Philippines is the Catholic Church's bastion in Asia, with followers of the faith making up 80 per cent of the former Spanish colony's 100 million population.
"We are devotees of the pope," said Bernie Nacario, 53, as he stood amid a mass of people with his wife and two young children near Rizal Park ahead of the 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."
As groups of people sang nearby and others burst into spontaneous cheers, Mr 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," he said.
The six million-turnout, confirmed by the head of Manila's planning agency, broke the previous record of five million for a papal gathering, set in 1995 when Pope John Paul II celebrated mass at the same venue.
Before travelling to the mass, Pope Francis had an emotional encounter with former street children at a Catholic university in Manila.
Twelve-year-old Glyzelle Palomar, who had been taken in by a church charity, wept as she asked how God could allow children to descend into prostitution and drug addiction.
The pope enfolded Glyzelle in his arms and discarded a pre-prepared speech as he reverted to his native Spanish to deliver a heartfelt response.
"She is the only one who has put a question for which there is no answer and she wasn't even able to express it in words but in tears," he said.
Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines on Thursday, following two days in Sri Lanka. It is his second trip to Asia in five months, in a nod to the region's growing importance to the Catholic Church as it faces declining support in Europe and the United States.
It is also the fourth papal visit to the Philippines, where rapturous receptions have cemented the nation's status as the Church's Asian role model.
Philippine authorities have undertaken one of their biggest-ever security operations to protect the pontiff, with nearly 40,000 soldiers and police deployed for Sunday's event.
And not everything has gone according to plan.
The pope said the main reason for visiting the Philippines was to meet survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm ever recorded on land which claimed more than 7,350 lives in November 2013.
On Saturday morning he flew from Manila to Leyte island – the typhoon's ground zero – for a planned full day in communities where homes were flattened by monster winds and tsunami-like storm surges.
But with Tropical Storm Mekkhala descending on the region, he was forced to cut short his visit and fly back to Manila.
"I apologise to you all. I'm sad about this, truly saddened," the pontiff told thousands who had gathered at one church shortly before he raced back to airport.
Just 30 minutes after the pope's flight left Tacloban, the capital of Leyte, a plane carrying top aides of President Benigno Aquino skidded off the same runway as it was buffeted by strong side winds while trying to take off. No one was seriously injured.
Earlier in the day, the storm's winds tore down scaffolding at the venue where the pope said mass, killing a 27-year-old female volunteer with the organising committee.
* Agence-France Presse
