Millions Gather to Meet Pope Francis in the Philippines

Millions of Filipino citizens gathered to meet Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, on Sunday, January 18. Reports indicate that this gathering is expected to become the 'largest' meeting of people with the Pope, despite a storm still raging in the country. Tropical storms on Saturday resulted in the death of one volunteer from the group accompanying Pope Francis and left his visit to one of the storm-hit islands unfinished. The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, and its citizens are known for participating in various religious ceremonies throughout the year. According to the French news agency, millions of people in Manila, the capital, took to the streets from Sunday morning for the gathering to meet Pope Francis. Reuters, quoting the event organizers, stated that up to 6 million people are expected to be on the streets for the mass on Sunday afternoon, a figure that exceeds the last gathering of 5 million people to meet Pope John Paul II, which took place 20 years ago in the Philippines. Tens of thousands of police and soldiers are assigned to maintain security during this visit, with 50,000 police and soldiers present for a large-scale security operation. Pope Francis's five-day visit to this Southeast Asian country began on Thursday following his two-day visit to Sri Lanka. This is Pope Francis's second trip to Asia in five months, and his fourth visit to the Philippines. Pope Francis stated that the main reason for his visit to the Philippines is to travel to areas that have been severely affected by recent storms. The 'Haiyan' storm, the strongest storm ever recorded on Earth, left over 7,300 dead in November 2013. Nevertheless, the weather conditions left his trip to 'Leyte', the main center of that storm, unfinished, and Pope Francis returned to Manila.