Francis arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday for the week-long World
Youth Day, a gathering of hundreds of thousands of Catholics
that takes place every three years in a different city. The
event will close with a papal Mass on Sunday.
The Mass will be celebrated on the riverside Parque Tejo, a
large, shadowless outdoor area, and authorities said over 1
million people would attend.
World Youth Day participants were given what organisers have
called the "pilgrim kit", which included a hat and a reusable
water bottle.
The weather agency IPMA issued a "red" alert for Lisbon between
10 a.m. and 6 p.m. time (0900-1700 GMT) due to "persistence of
extremely" high temperatures. The Sunday Mass will last two
hours from 9 to 11 a.m.
Before the closing event, 86-year-old Francis will travel to
Portugal's famous Catholic sanctuary of Fatima on Saturday
morning to pray the rosary with sick youngsters, people with
disabilities and inmates.
Francis will hold a vigil with young people at Parque Tejo on
Saturday evening.
IPMA said temperatures on Saturday could rise to 36 degrees
Celsius and 38 degrees Celsius in Fatima and Lisbon,
respectively. August is usually the hottest month of the year in
Portugal. The average highest temperature in August in Lisbon is
around 28 degrees Celsius.
Bracing for a sweltering weekend, worried faithful taking part
in a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), which retraces the last
hours in Jesus' life, called for action to tackle climate
change.
Extreme weather in July has caused havoc across the planet, with
record temperatures in China, the United States and parts of
southern Europe sparking fires, water shortages and a rise in
heat-related hospital admissions.
Portugal is on high alert for blazes, and more than 500
firefighters are scrambling to put out flames that started on
Friday afternoon in a forest area in the central Castelo Branco
district.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Grant McCool)
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