"May You Feel As If You're Home!": In Madrid, the "Day" Begins

Including a record turnout of the Stateside church, while as many as 1.5 million people are expected for Saturday's Vigil and Sunday's climactic Papal Mass at an air-base outside the city, the crowd for tonight's kickoff liturgy in the city-center's Plaza de Cibeles still numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
The pilgrims having flooded into the Spanish capital from the weekend (with some still trickling in), the traditional catechesis sessions and informal meet-ups might be going into overdrive tomorrow, but the week-long "Popestock" won't reach its peak until B16 himself arrives on Thursday and delivers his first talk to the gathered that evening.

SVILUPPO: Albeit without commentary or translation, HD fullvid of the Opening Mass is posted at the Vatican's video player.
PHOTOS: Getty
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