Masses of cheering believers in the Philippines turned out to bid farewell to Pope Francis on Monday, a fitting end to a week in Asia that saw him draw record crowds and campaign relentlessly for the poor.
The pontiff visited Sri Lanka as well as the Philippines on his second trip to Asia in five months, seeking to promote the Catholic Church in one of its most important growth regions.
More than one million people gathered along his motorcade route in the Philippine capital of Manila on Monday morning for a final glimpse of Francis, the city’s planning agency chief, Francis Tolentino, told AFP.
The 78-year-old pontiff showed no signs of fatigue from a gruelling week on the road, smiling and waving to the crowds from an open-air “popemobile” on the way to the airport.
