LISBON: The Portuguese state weather agency on Friday (Aug 4) put the capital Lisbon on high weather alert for the weekend, with temperatures expected to reach 41 degrees Celsius on the last day of Pope Francis’ visit.
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 10am and 6pm time (0900-1700 GMT) due to “persistence of extremely” high temperatures. The Sunday Mass will last two hours from 9 to 11am.
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.
Source: CNA
