Rain and lightning forces pope to skip bulk of speech to 1 million young pilgrims and disrupts Sunday's mass

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A thunderstorm forced the pope to cut short his speech to an estimated 1 million young pilgrims gathered at a Madrid airfield to mark World Youth Day.

As rain soaked the crowd and lightning lit up the night sky on Saturday, the 84-year-old pontiff skipped the bulk of the speech and delivered brief greetings in half a dozen languages.

During the day, firefighters had sprayed the crowds with water, and pilgrims sought shade in the near 40C (104F) heat.

Some makeshift chapels on the field's perimeter were damaged in the downpour, forcing organisers to announce on Sunday that not everyone would be able to receive communion during mass. In fact, said Yago de la Cierva, head of the World Youth Day organising committee, almost none of the young people received the Eucharist.

The pope urged Sunday's crowd to become missionaries for the faith. "So do not keep Christ to yourselves. Share with others the joy of your faith," he said.

He was kept comfortable during mass by a cooling system erected on the altar. He announced that the next World Youth Day would take place in Rio in 2013 – a year early to avoid clashing with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil – and said he hoped to attend.