Pope begins trip to passionate Philippines
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MANILA (AFP) - Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines on Thursday for a five-day trip in the Catholic Church's passionate and chaotic Asian heartland that is tipped to attract a world-record papal crowd.
Church bells tolled across the nation as the charismatic pontiff flew into the capital of Manila after a successful trip to Sri Lanka.
Francis smiled as he looked out the window of his plane upon touchdown, and hundreds of children brought to greet him chanted on the tarmac: "Welcome Pope Francis".
Francis has said his two-nation tour is aimed at adding momentum to already impressive growth for the Church in Asia, with its support in the Philippines the benchmark for the rest of the region.
Eighty per cent of the former Spanish colony's 100 million people practise a famously fervent brand of Catholicism, and the pope is set to enjoy thunderously enthusiastic crowds throughout his stay.
"Every step he makes, every car ride he takes, every moment he stays with us is precious for us," Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said as he called on all Filipinos to make an effort to see him.
Hoping for a first glimpse, hundreds of thousands of people gathered on Thursday along the route the pope is scheduled to pass along as he makes his way from the airport to the Vatican's embassy to rest overnight.
"It's a blessing to see the pope. That's why we're here," school teacher Jeannie Blesado, 35, told AFP as she sat on the side the road more than six hours before the pope was due to arrive.
