[1/5] Pope Francis attends a welcome ceremony at Parque Eduardo VII during his apostolic journey to Portugal on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 3, 2023.
The crowd, which police said numbered about half a million, was the largest in Lisbon since celebrations in 2016 when Portugal's men won the European soccer championships.
Thursday's early evening event was the first of several with the pope for World Youth Day, a gathering that takes place every three years in a different city.
One of the young people who addressed the pope before he spoke asked him "to put things right in the Church for a better future".
He told the crowd the Church had room for everyone, "including those who make mistakes, who fall or struggle", and led them in a chant of "Todos, todos, todos!"
Persons:
Pope Francis, Parque Eduardo VII, Portugal mobbed Pope Francis, Francis, Edward VII, Mariana Moreira, God, Philip Pullella, Kevin Liffey
Organizations:
Parque, Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Thomson
Locations:
Portugal, Lisbon, REUTERS LISBON, Barcelos