Rainy weather fails to dampen spirit of Pope’s visit

As night fell in Madrid, hundreds of thousands of young people were at an aerodrome just outside the Spanish city to listen to Pope Benedict XVI give a speech. They were waiting to hear from the pontiff on the penultimate day of his visit to Spain.

Unfortunately, plans were beaten by the elements as torrential rain forced the event to be cut short. The Pope was only able to deliver a few opening welcome lines before the speech was abandoned because of the storm. Nonetheless, the crowd took the cancellation well and remained in good spirits. The address would have come before an all-night prayer vigil.

Sunday is the Pope’s final day in Spain as he marks the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day festival. On the last day, he will reach out to more young people as he holds a closing mass with thousands of bishops and priests and attends farewell ceremony at Barajas Airport.

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