Largest crowd of youth in years gather for Pope Francis

MANILA, Philippines - Waves of thousands of young people in green, red, yellow, blue and orange ran toward the direction of Pope Francis riding the popemobile Sunday at the University of Santo Tomas.

The pope spent some 10 minutes roaming around campus grounds for his encounter with the youth of various dioceses from around the country.

More people behind fences at the edges of the field where the ceremony would be held strained their necks to catch a glimpse of the smiling, 78-year-old pontiff.

Bangued Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines told Pope Francis how eager young people were to see and meet him as a symbol of their faith.

"The Filipino youth sees in you the good shepherd showing compassion to the land, especially to the lost, to the least and to the last," Jaucian said.

The pope then listened to testimonies of Jun Chura, an out-of-school youth who described to him his life in the streets.

"Nangangalakal po ako [ng basura]. Nanghihingi po ako ng pagkain sa bahay-bahay pero madalas ay walang nagbibigay," he said.

Leandro Santos II, a young law student, told the pope about the effect of ready access to information and technology, and how these distract them from a life of prayer.

"Dear Holy Father, how may we love truly?" Santos asked.

UST engineering student Rikki Macolor, a survivor of Supertyphoon Yolanda, talked to him about his experience in the calamity, which inspired him to invent a solar lighting tools for victims.

Pope Francis embraced the youth representatives and led the Liturgy of the Word before a packed sports field.

On Sunday afternoon, the pope will celebrate Mass at Manila's Rizal Park with a crowd expected to swell to millions.