Hundreds of thousands gather for pope's youth finale

posted July 19, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Up to half a million Catholic faithful began gathering in Sydney to see Pope Benedict XVI lead a giant mass Sunday that will provide a dramatic finale to a week of World Youth Day festivities.

The final mass, at which the pope will announce the host city of the 2011 World Youth Day, came a day after the pontiff issued a historic apology, saying he was "deeply sorry" about the "evil" of child sex abuse by Catholic priests

More than 235,000 singing and chanting pilgrims from Australia and around the world braved icy temperatures to camp out overnight in a Sydney racecourse and park ahead of the finale of the largest Christian gathering on earth.

"It's really the opportunity for us to build up our faith more deeply, especially for my children," said Corry Setio, an Indonesian-born Australian, as she and her daughter jostled for a vantage point to see the pope. the rest