Photo Story: Over a million attend mass by Pope Francis in Madagascar

Pope Francis (R) during the visit the City of Friendship, Akamasoa, Madagascar, 08 September 2019. Pope Francis will visit Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius on his three-nation trip to Africa, from 04 to 10 September 2019.

On Sunday, an estimated one million people attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the outskirts of Madagascar’s capital city, Antananarivo, the Vatican said.

Some have described it as the biggest public gathering in Madagascar’s history.

Worshippers braved the windswept dust to ensure a place at the Mass.

Addressing worshippers, the Pope spoke out against what he termed the patronage which produces a few rich people while the vast majority live in grinding poverty.

“When ‘family’ becomes the decisive criterion for what we consider right and good, we end up justifying and even ‘consecrating’ practices that lead to the culture of privilege and exclusion: favouritism, patronage and – as a consequence – corruption”, he said in his homily.

Photo: EPA-EFE/LUCA ZENNARO