LISBON - Pope Francis celebrated an open-air Mass before a huge crowd on Sunday at a riverside park near Lisbon to wrap up an international jamboree of Catholic youth.
Around 1.5 million people attended the service at the Parque Tejo park on the outskirts of the Portuguese capital, the Vatican said.
The crowd waved national flags and cheered as the 86-year-old pope arrived at the park, which was built for the occasion on a former landfill site.
Many had camped out overnight in sleeping bags or floor mats.
With little shade in the park, pilgrims protected themselves from the sun with umbrellas or makeshift tents made from sheets.
"It's extraordinary to be able to be here to see our Pope Francis who has managed to gather people from the whole world," Pimentel Gomes, a 52-year-old priest from Brazil, told AFP as he sat for breakfast before the Mass.
The weather is a concern with temperatures expected to soar to 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit).
Portugal's state weather agency has issued a "red" alert -- its highest level -- for Lisbon on Sunday due to the heat.