Manila--Pope Francis will celebrate mass with millions in the Philippine capital on Sunday in what could be the world's biggest papal gathering, capping off a dramatic trip in the Catholic Church's Asian heartland.
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 and sometimes extreme brand of Catholicism, and organisers are preparing for up to six million to attend, all determined to catch a glimpse of Francis.
"I will go whether there's a storm or not. I am not afraid of the rain," Nona Andaya Castillo, 52, a natural family planning and breastfeeding consultant from Manila, told AFP.
"This is history, and this will probably be my last chance to see a pope in person."
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.
The pope's five-day visit to the Philippines, which began on Thursday, followed two days in Sri Lanka.
It is his second trip to Asia in five months, in a nod to the growing importance of the region 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.
The Philippines is the Catholic Church's benchmark in Asia, with 80 percent of the former Spanish colony followers of the faith.
Rapturous receptions for the pope throughout his Philippine journey, including millions crowding his motorcade routes in Manila, have cemented the nation's status as the Church's Asian role model.
AFP
