HOLY MASS at Bahrain National Stadium

About 30,000 flag-waving devotees joined an open-air mass held by Pope Francis in Bahrain today, the highlight of his outreach mission to the Gulf. Pope Francis, who uses a wheelchair and walking stick due to knee problems, smiled and waved to the crowds from an open-sided popemobile where he was seated, flanked by more than a dozen suited security guards and attendants. As a 100-strong, multinational choir sang in multiple languages, the Argentine stood to kiss children lifted up to greet him in the popemobile which drove slowly towards a white stage backdropped by a giant yellow cross.