Pope Francis Makes History In Philippines, Drawing 7 Million In Mass Amid Manila Rain

Pope Francis flew back to Rome on Monday after completing an epic five-day visit to the Philippines where he made history by drawing nearly 7 million people in his closing Mass amid stormy weather in Manila.

It was the "largest event of the history of the Popes," according to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.

The size of the papal mass on Sunday at the sprawling Rizal Park surpassed the roughly five million Filipinos who attended a Mass by Saint John Paul II in the same park 20 years ago to celebrate the 1995 World Youth Day.

The Philippine Airlines plane carrying the Pope took off from Manila at 10 a.m. local time on Monday in sunny weather after thousands of Filipinos once again lined the streets along the papal route to the airport, shouting "Viva Santo Papa!" and "Pope Francis, we love you!"

Only a day before, Pope Francis celebrated a rain-soaked Mass at the park after attending a youth gathering at the biggest Catholic university in Manila.

Amid steady rain, the Pope was driven to the park in a special "popemobile" amid deafening exultation from the huge crowd. He was wearing the same flimsy plastic yellow poncho that was handed out to the people who attended a Mass in typhoon-hit Tacloban city a day earlier.

He asked the driver to stop several times to be able to kiss children and bless religious statues of the infant Jesus, whose feast was being celebrated that day.

Spread The Faith

In his homily, the Pope urged Filipinos to take the lead in spreading Christianity in Asia, noting the Philippines is the biggest Catholic country in the continent. "Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia," he said.

The 78-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church used the occasion to once again urge the Philippine government to tackle corruption and poverty. He repeated his criticism of the population control policy of President Benigno Aquino III, saying the family was under threat from "insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred."

Pope Francis pleaded for the world to hear the cries of poor, hungry, homeless and abused children. He urged the faithful to protect their children from sin, alcohol and gambling.

"We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected," the Pope said. "And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to a life on the streets."

The Pope earlier attended a gathering of the Filipino youth at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where he and other people were touched deeply by a question posed by a 12-year-old orphan girl.

Crying Girl's Touching Question

Glyzelle Iris Palomar asked the Pope: "Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many of them became victims and bad things have happened to them, like drug addiction and prostitution. Why does God allow this to happen, even if the children are not at fault? Why is it that only a few people help us?'

Palomar then broke down in tears and could not finish her address. Visibly moved, the Pope hugged her and later put aside most of his own prepared speech to answer the question of the girl who was rescued and found shelter in a Church-run community.

"She is the only one who has put forward a question for which there is no answer and she was not even able to express it in words but rather in tears," the Pope said, speaking in his native Spanish in front of about 30,000 young people. An aide translated his words into English.

Pope Francis praised Palomar, saying her tearful question shows that Christians must "learn how to weep."

Pope Francis used the occasion to recall how Jesus ministered to his people. "Jesus in the Gospel, he cried," the Pope said. "He cried for his dead friend, he cried in his heart for the family that had lost its child, he cried when he saw the poor widow burying her son, he was moved to tears, to compassion, when he saw the crowds without a shepherd."

It is only when we learn to cry with those who are suffering that we can begin to understand them and to love them, the Pope said.

"If you don't learn how to cry, you can't be good Christians," he pointed out, adding , "Let us learn how to weep, as Glyzelle has shown us today. Let us not forget this lesson."

Woman's Death Mars Papal Visit

The papal visit was marred by the death of a young woman who lost her life in a freak accident in Tacloban City on Saturday when the Pope celebrated Mass amid a raging typhoon.

The papal visit was marred by the death of a young woman who lost her life in a freak accident in Tacloban City on Saturday when the Pope celebrated Mass amid a raging typhoon. The Mass was about to start when a piece of scaffolding fell on 27-year-old Kristel Padasas who worked as a volunteer Catholic Relief Services.

Compassion For Typhoon Survivors

In the Tacloban City Mass attended by hundreds of thousands of people, the Pope addressed the survivors of last year's Typhoon Haiyan in his homily, expressing compassion for their plight.

"I'm here to be with you," he said. "A little bit late, I have to say. But I'm here. I've come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. That Jesus never lets us down."

The Pope said he could feel in his heart the misery and trauma of the typhoon survivors. "'Father', you might say to me, 'I was let down because I've lost so many things: my house, my livelihood'," the Pope said.

"It's true, if you would say that, and I respect those sentiments," he said. "But Jesus is there nailed to the Cross, and from there, he does not let us down. There, he experienced all calamities that we experience. Jesus is Lord, the Lord from the Cross, he is there for you!"

Tacloban is the provincial capital of Leyte province which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in December 2013. That super-typhoon killed over 6,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

During his stay in the Philippines, the Pope also found time to meet with religious leaders, families, youth and street children. He also paid a visit to Malacañang Palace where he was welcomed by Aquino and other government officials.

Francis is the third pope to visit the Philippines where up to 80 percent of its 100 million population are Catholic.

Filipinos Express Feelings

Through his five-day stay, Filipinos braved rain and gusty winds as they lined the streets to get a glimpse of the pope they consider as the embodiment of Jesus Christ himself.

Joey Stefona, one of the people in the crowd, was so excited about the prospect of seeing Pope Francis in person. "If he passed by I would be so elated, no words can explain. I really love the pope."

Upon seeing the Pope passed by, Fely Saldua, another face in the crowd, said: "It's a happiness that you can't describe, an inner happiness."

A man who said he was suffering from arthritis said his pain disappeared upon seeing the Pope. "It is as if the Lord has cured my ailment," said Bernie Nacario, 53, as he stood together 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," he said.

May Dupaya, 41, also stood nearby with a plastic bag to shield her from the rain, after lending her raincoat to her mother. "I am prepared to get wet for Pope Francis," she said.

Philippine authorities deployed nearly 40,000 soldiers and police for Sunday's twin papal events, one of the biggest security operations in the country.