KRAKOW, Poland - On the eve of John Paul II's funeral, around half a million people gathered Thursday in a vast field on the edge of the southern Polish city of Krakow for a mass in memory of the Polish-born pope.
"We estimate the numbers at around 500,000. Blonia esplanade is beginning to fill up and people are still streaming in from Market Square," Krakow police spokeswoman Sylwia Bober told AFP.
A mass was due to be held at the esplanade and at 9:37 pm (1937 GMT), the precise time of John Paul II's death on Saturday, lit candles will be lifted skyward on the eve of his funeral.
The huge gathering had set off some two hours earlier from central Market Square in Krakow for a silent, white march in homage to John Paul II.
Leading the march, youths carried white flags and banners inscribed with the words "Holy father, we thank you."
Most of the participants were dressed in white, and some carried white flowers.
"For us, white is a symbolic colour, linked with the pope. It is also the sign of hope. We're not here in sadness even if the even is sad," said 21-year-old theology student Lukasz Boronski.
"We thank the holy father for having left us so many gifts," he added.
"This is a tribute and also a message of hope. I hope that after his death, the change will continue," said Katarzyna Kierzek, 22, a management student.
Engineering student Michal Skwarczynski, 21, said he had come to "pay homage to the holy father and the greatest Pole in history."
Just as was the case on Monday, when more than 150,000 young people marched through the streets of Krakow in an impromptu tribute to John Paul II, news of the march was spread by the Internet and mobile telephone text messages.
A similar march was organised in Krakow in 1981, after the failed attempt on the life of John Paul II.
04/07/2005 17:32 GMT