World Youth Day to begin without Pope
Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 00:15
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Sydney as Catholic Church's World Youth Day begins
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected on the streets of Sydney as the Catholic Church's World Youth Day (WYD) begins.
The six-day event is the largest to ever be hosted in Australia, with the expected 125,000 international visitors surpassing the city's 2000 Olympics.
Organisers say WYD "brings together young people from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis".
The occasion has already seen Pope Benedict XVI visit Australia for the first time in what is only the fourth-ever papal visit to the country.
The 81-year-old spent yesterday resting at a Catholic retreat in the Sydney suburbs after arriving on Sunday pledging to apologise for the sexual abuse of children committed by priests.
The pontiff is not due to join the celebrations until Thursday, while half a million people are expected when he delivers a papal mass on Sunday's finale.
Cardinal George Pell, the leader of Australian Catholics, will open the event with a harbour-side mass.