How Does Today’s Mass in the DRC Compare?| National Catholic Register

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in French, the official language of the DRC, and Lingala, the Bantu-based creole spoken in parts of the DRC and by millions of speakers throughout Central Africa.

More than a million people attended Pope Francis’ Mass celebrated at an airfield in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday morning, according to local authorities. The papal mass, celebrated in French, was full of joy and dancing.

Papal Masses have drawn millions of people, especially in the last 50 years – many of them to World Youth Days, the large gatherings of young people that began in 1987 and take place every few years.

Here is an inexhaustible ranking of some of the greatest papal Masses:

Pope Francis, Manila, 2015: 6-7 million

Millions gather in Manila for Pope Francis’ closing mass on January 18, 2015. . Alan Holdren/CNA.

Residents of the historically Catholic Philippines put on a great performance at the closing Mass of Pope Francis’ 2015 trip to the Philippines. According to official estimates, between 6 and 7 million people crowded into Manila’s Rizal Park for the last public event during his land tour from Jan. 15-19.

The Mass is considered the greatest papal event in history.

Pope John Paul II, Manila, 1995: 5 million

Pope John Paul II with Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Jaime Sin addresses the crowd attending the closing Mass of the 10th World Youth Day in Manila. Ryansean071|Wikipedia|CC BY-SA 4.0

An estimated 5 million people attended the Mass celebrated by the future saint, who was the most widely traveled pope of all time and possibly the most viewed person in history. Visitor numbers set a record that would take years to break.

Pope Francis, Rio de Janeiro, 2013: 3 million

World Youth Day pilgrims take part in a flash mob dance at the start of the closing Mass on June 28, 2013. Michelle Bauman/CNA

The celebration of Pope Francis’ closing Mass at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro – his first World Youth Day – set a record as the largest papal event since Manila in 1995. The Rio de Janeiro Mayor’s Office estimated that 3.2 million people attended the liturgy at the famous Copacabana Beach.

Pope Francis, Kraków, 2013: 1.5-3 million

World Youth Day in Kraków, July 2016. Jeff Bruno

Original estimates put “at least 1.5 million” visitors to the fair, based on the number of people at the vigil the night before. Although Polish police did not provide an estimate, World Youth Day spokeswoman Anna Chmura later told Agence France Presse that there were “between 2.5 and 3 million people”.

Pope Francis, Kinshasa, 2023: 1 million

Pope Francis celebrated Mass with around 1 million people on February 1, 2023 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Vatican Media

The Mass in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, took place at the N’Dolo airport aerodrome on the second day of the Pope’s trip to two countries in Central and East Africa.

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in French, the official language of the DRC, and Lingala, the Bantu-based creole spoken in parts of the DRC and by millions of speakers throughout Central Africa. The Pope delivered his homily in Italian with French translations for the Mass celebrated according to Zaire usage of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite.