Pontiff dons local headgear ahead of open air mass dubbed ‘the Catholic Wodstock’

Pope Francis wore local headgear ahead of an open-air Mass dubbed the ‘Catholic Woodstock’ – a jamboree attended by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Panama City.

Organizers said about 700,000 people attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day, which takes place in a different city every three years. 

The next jamboree, which has been dubbed the ‘Catholic Woodstock,’ will be in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2022.

Many of the young people in the crowd had spent the night on the fields of a park named after Pope John Paul – the last pontiff to visit Panama.

Pope Francis wears local headgear ahead of an open-air Mass dubbed the ‘Catholic Woodstock’ – a jamboree attended by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Panama City

Crowds of thousands gather at the Saint Paul II Metro Park to hear the Pope say Mass during World Youth Day in Panama City, Panama

Crowds of thousands gather at the Saint Paul II Metro Park to hear the Pope say Mass during World Youth Day in Panama City, Panama

Pope Francis delivers his homily during an  morning Mass - which began unusually early at 8am due to  sweltering tropical heat

Pope Francis delivers his homily during an morning Mass – which began unusually early at 8am due to sweltering tropical heat

In his closing homily at the Mass, which started unusually early at 8am due to the sweltering tropical heat, Francis urged young people to work against ‘fear and exclusion, speculation and manipulation.’

The Pope was photographed earlier in the trip wearing a Panama hat.

This was Pope Francis’ last event before he returns to Rome to prepare for a historic trip to the Arabian Peninsula. 

After a week at the Vatican, Francis leaves on Sunday for a three-day trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where he will become the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula and say the first Mass in a public venue there. 

There are an estimated one million Roman Catholics in the UAE, all of them expatriate workers.

The freedom to practice Christianity or any religion other than Islam is not a given in the Gulf and varies from country to country. 

Pope Francis embraces a man dressed in blue during his visit at the Casa Hogar 'El Buen Samaritano' in Panama City, Panama

Pope Francis embraces a man dressed in blue during his visit at the Casa Hogar ‘El Buen Samaritano’ in Panama City, Panama

The Pope gestures with John Oh Woong-Jin (left), the founder of the Congregation of the Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus-Philippines

The Pope gestures with John Oh Woong-Jin (left), the founder of the Congregation of the Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus-Philippines

Catholic pilgrims stand with their arms around each others shoulders as they listen to a Mass by Pope Francis this morning

Catholic pilgrims stand with their arms around each others shoulders as they listen to a Mass by Pope Francis this morning

A young woman leans on a man's back as they embrace during an open-air mass at the Campo San Juan Pablo II on the outskirts of Panama City

A young woman leans on a man’s back as they embrace during an open-air mass at the Campo San Juan Pablo II on the outskirts of Panama City

A picture of the Salvadoran Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero is held next to a national flag of El Salvador during the closing mass of the World Youth Day, officiated by Pope Francis

A picture of the Salvadoran Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero is held next to a national flag of El Salvador during the closing mass of the World Youth Day, officiated by Pope Francis

In the UAE and Kuwait, Christians may worship in churches or church compounds and in other places with special licenses. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, bans the practice of other religions.

During the Panama trip, the themes of migration and the Church’s sexual abuse crisis loomed large.

Francis said at one event that it was ‘senseless and irresponsible’ to stigmatize migrants and see all of them as threats to society, weighing in again on one of the most divisive issues in the United States.

A pilgrim who took part in an evening vigil in the framework of World Youth Day is pictured inside a sleeping bag in the morning before the arrival of Pope Francis to officiate an open-air mass

A pilgrim who took part in an evening vigil in the framework of World Youth Day is pictured inside a sleeping bag in the morning before the arrival of Pope Francis to officiate an open-air mass

Pilgrims from Guatemala smile as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis to officiate an open-air morning mass on Sunday

Pilgrims from Guatemala smile as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis to officiate an open-air morning mass on Sunday

Many young people in the crowd spent the night on the fields of a park named after Pope John Paul after an evening vigil

Many young people in the crowd spent the night on the fields of a park named after Pope John Paul after an evening vigil

He spoke several times of the need for ‘bridges, not walls,’ again putting himself at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Friday agreed under mounting pressure to end a 35-day partial government shutdown -without getting the $5.7 billion he had demanded from Congress for a wall along the border with Mexico.

Trump has repeatedly warned about the dangers of illegal immigrants, and said the wall would help solve the problem.

On Saturday, Francis said the Roman Catholic Church was weary and ‘wounded by her own sin,’ in an apparent reference to the global sexual abuse crisis.

Organizers said about 700,000 people attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day, which takes place in a different city every three years

Organizers said about 700,000 people attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day, which takes place in a different city every three years

The next jamboree, which has been dubbed the 'Catholic Woodstock,' will be in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2022 (pictured, a pilgrim prays during mass)

The next jamboree, which has been dubbed the ‘Catholic Woodstock,’ will be in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2022 (pictured, a pilgrim prays during mass)

Pope Francis smiles as he clasps the hand of John Oh Woong-Jin during his visit at the Casa Hogar 'El Buen Samaritano'

Pope Francis smiles as he clasps the hand of John Oh Woong-Jin during his visit at the Casa Hogar ‘El Buen Samaritano’

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he arrives in the pope-mobile to give an open-air mass at the Campo San Juan Pablo II

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he arrives in the pope-mobile to give an open-air mass at the Campo San Juan Pablo II

Panama President Juan Carlos Varela (second from left), his wife and first lady Lorena Castillo (third from left), Colombian President Ivan Duque (fourth from left), Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado (sixth from left), his wife and first lady Claudia Dobles (fourth from right), Salvadorian President Salvador Sanchez (third from right), and the Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (second from right) attend the closing mass of the World Youth Day

Panama President Juan Carlos Varela (second from left), his wife and first lady Lorena Castillo (third from left), Colombian President Ivan Duque (fourth from left), Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado (sixth from left), his wife and first lady Claudia Dobles (fourth from right), Salvadorian President Salvador Sanchez (third from right), and the Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales (second from right) attend the closing mass of the World Youth Day

Later, at a lunch with a delegation of young people, he told an American representative that clergy sexual abuse was a ‘horrible crime’ and that the Church should be united in fighting it.

Francis has called a summit of the heads of national Catholic churches at the Vatican on February 21 to 24 to discuss what is now a global sexual abuse crisis.

The February meeting offers a chance for him to respond to criticism from victims of abuse that he has stumbled in his handling of the crisis and has not done enough to make bishops accountable.

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