Historic: Crowd in Philippines sets new world record for papal Mass

Historic: Crowd in Philippines sets new world record for papal Mass January 18, 2015

From Catholic News Agency: 

The Vatican’s spokesman said that papal history was made Sunday during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines where an estimated 6-7 million people attended his closing Mass.

“The official number that has been given to us is between six and seven million,” Father Federico Lombardi told journalists at a press conference in Manila on Sunday.

In his homily for the Jan. 18 Closing Mass in the Philippines, Pope Francis pointed to our identity as God’s children, calling for the protection of the family against the numerous attacks that threaten it.

“Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.”

Pope Francis spoke to millions of Filipinos gathered at Rizal Park in Manila at the final public event during his Jan. 15-19 trip to the country.

The Mass marked the largest papal event in history, surpassing the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila with Saint John Paul II, which drew 4-5 million people.

Huge crowds have turned out for the Pope’s Masses and public events in the Philippines, where 86 percent of the population identifies as Catholic.

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