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(NECN/ABC) - Tens of thousands of pilgrims began arriving at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse early on Sunday, for the Papal outdoor mass celebrating World Youth Day.
Pope Benedict XVI will lead the World Youth Day mass expected to attract half a million people. Pilgrims started streaming towards the racecourse before sunrise to be part of the final mass of World Youth Day celebrations, which will also be watched by millions of people around the world.
More than 200-thousand pilgrims spent the night sleeping under the stars at the racecourse after the Pope attended a candlelit vigil there last night.
The Pope used the event to call for unity in faith in a divided world, saying secularism is fragmenting society.
He said the world was a fragile place, citing the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur as evidence.
The Pope left the vigil after two hours to ecstatic applause before the pilgrims settled down for a cold night.
World Youth Day is a global celebration meant to inspire a new generation of Catholics.
Pope Benedict XVI will return flying over Randwick and Centennial Park by helicopter and then move through the area in the 'Popemobile'.
After the mass, the Pope will announce the next city to host an international World Youth Day in two or three years time.
It follows the Pope's apology on Saturday at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral, to victims of child sex abuse by some members of the Roman Catholic
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