Francis, on the first full day of his visit to mainly Buddhist Thailand, led a Mass in Bangkok’s National Stadium for tens of thousands of exuberant Roman Catholics in a country where they make up less than one percent of the population.





“For us, it is as if God himself is here,” said Nutaporn Kwanmuang, 27, who attended the Mass, the largest gathering of Catholics since Pope John Paul II visited in 1984. Tens of thousands of others watched on screens in an adjacent stadium.





In his homily, Francis mentioned the exploitation of women and children and the plight of refugees and migrants for the second time in one day.





Pope Francis speaks during an open-air Mass at national sports stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Pope Francis urged more efforts to combat the "humiliation" of women and children forced into prostitution as he began a busy visit Thursday to Thailand, where human trafficking and poverty help fuel the sex tourism industry. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

“Here I think of children and women who are victims of prostitution and human trafficking, humiliated in their essential human dignity,” said the 82-year-old pope, who looked tired at the end of a long day.





Thailand, which attracts some 35 million tourists a year, has sought to shed its reputation for sex tourism. But repeated crackdowns have not rid Bangkok and other tourist hubs of go-go bars and massage parlors that often offer sex.





There are around 123,530 sex workers in Thailand, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report.





Earlier, in his first address on Thursday, Francis expressed appreciation for the Thai government’s efforts “to extirpate this scourge, and for all those private individuals and organizations working to uproot this evil and to provide ways to restore their (victims’) dignity”.





At both venues, he defending migrants and refugees and condemned human trafficking.





The number of human trafficking victims rescued in Thailand is set to hit a record high this year. Demand for cheap labor in neighboring Malaysia has caused a jump in the illegal trade, according to government data.