Pope calls for a living faith at gigantic open-air mass

Aug 21, 2011, 8:44 GMT

Madrid - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday exhorted young believers to actively practise their faith despite 'rejection and indifference,' at a huge open-air mass forming the highlight of his four-day visit to Spain.

Nearly 1.5 million people - according to police sources - attended the mass, which made Madrid's Cuatro Vientos airport look like a colourful carpet of human beings.

Dignitaries present at the mass included King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

It was important for Catholic youths to participate in the life of parishes, to attend mass and to pray, the pope said in the increasingly secularized country where an estimated 60 per cent of young people hardly ever go to church.

'Friendship with Jesus will also lead you to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with rejection or indifference,' Benedict said.

Thousands of the pilgrims had spent the night at the airport - which is used by private aircraft - following a prayer vigil there with the pope the night before.

Organizers put the number of participants at nearly two million.

The vigil was interrupted by a rainstorm which forced the pope to suspend part of his speech. Winds knocked over a lamppost which fell on a tent and caused minor injuries to seven people, according to emergency services.

Health workers also attended to about 700 people who had suffered heat-related health problems while waiting for the pope in temperatures of about 40 degrees Celsius.

The pope referred to Saturday's events at the Sunday mass, telling young people he had thought a lot about them overnight and saying he hoped 'you have been able to sleep a little.'

The mass was the fourth rally at which Benedict drew hundreds of thousands of people since his arrival in Madrid for World Youth Day celebrations on Thursday.

The fervour has stood in stark contrast to growing secularization in Spain, where only about 70 per cent of the population now define themselves as Catholics, down from about 80 per cent a decade ago.