Pope braves storm for emotional Philippine typhoon memorial

TACLOBAN, Jan 17 (AFP): Pope Francis was forced Saturday to flee a fierce storm in the Philippines that killed a papal volunteer, cutting short a mercy mission to weeping survivors of a catastrophic super typhoon.

Wearing a yellow plastic poncho to protect him from intense rain, Francis delivered an emotional mass to about 200,000 people in the typhoon-ravaged central Philippine city of Tacloban.

However, plans to spend the entire day in Tacloban and nearby areas that were devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan 14 months ago were ruined by another storm, forcing him to fly back to Manila at lunchtime.

Pope Francis braved heavy rain Saturday to celebrate an emotional mass with a sea of weeping survivors of a super typhoon in the Philippines that killed thousands, saying their pain silenced his heart.

Francis flew in from the national capital of Manila to Tacloban, one of the cities devastated 14 months ago, to be greeted by hundreds of thousands of people but also another severe tropical storm.

"Long live the pope," the crowd chanted as he walked off the plane to be immediately buffeted by strong winds and intense rain, which later in the day forced him to cut short his trip to other typhoon-hit areas.

His welcome echoed the rapturous reception that millions gave the pontiff during the first two days of his trip to the Philippines, reinforcing its status as the Catholic Church's bastion in Asia.

Most of the people in the crowd at Tacloban wore thin yellow plastic ponchos handed out by organisers, and the pope also put one on before walking on to a nearby stage to celebrate mass in heavy rain.

"I would like to tell you something close to my heart," the pope said as many in the crowd clutched crucifixes and cried.

"When I saw in Rome that catastrophe, I felt I had to be here. And on those very days, I decided to come here. I'm here to be with you."