MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis told a crowd of an estimated six million gathered in a Manila park to protect the family "against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture."

MANILA, Philippines - Young people drew inspiration from an encounter with Pope Francis at the University of Santo Tomas.

TACLOBAN, Philippines - Fourteen months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated much of the central Philippines, Pope Francis braved a tropical storm to encourage survivors in their ongoing work of recovery. The weather forced him to leave the area hours ahead of schedule, so he made up for reduced contact with words and gestures of characteristic spontaneity and emotional directness.

TACLOBAN, Philippines - Among more than 100,000 people who braved an approaching tropical storm and waited long hours to attend Mass with Pope Francis Jan. 17 were survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

MANILA, Philippines - The record-breaking papal Mass in Rizal Park coincided with one of the most popular feast days in the Philippines: Santo Nino Day, or the feast of the Holy Child Jesus.

MANILA, Philippines - After praying publicly at a youth gathering for the repose of the soul of a Catholic Relief Services worker killed the previous day, Pope Francis met Jan. 18 with her father and her maternal uncle.

MANILA, Philippines - The realities of life described by young people, especially the tearful question of a 12-year-old girl about why God allows suffering, led Pope Francis to set aside the first text he had prepared for a meeting Jan. 18 with the young people of the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines - In a nation plagued repeatedly by corruption scandals, Pope Francis urged "everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor."

MANILA, Philippines - The Gospel has the power to transform society, ensuring justice and care for the poor, but that can happen only if Christians -- beginning with the church's ministers -- allow the Gospel to transform them, Pope Francis said.

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis did not disappoint hundreds of former street children who were part of a massive campaign to show him one of the centres where they have found safety and love.

MAKOLA, Sri Lanka - When Pope Francis made a surprise visit to a prominent Buddhist temple in Colombo Jan. 14, the head of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka reciprocated by showing the Pope historical relics of Buddhas' disciples, normally exposed only for the annual Buddhist feast in May.

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - It happened here again, but this time rather unexpectedly. In 1970 and in 1995, when Blessed Paul VI and St. John Paul II visited Sri Lanka, the president who invited them was no longer in office when they arrived. So it was for Pope Francis’ arrival this week, but more dramatically so.

MANILA, Philippines - Although it was not called a welcoming ceremony, Pope Francis was greeted by government and church officials and an exuberant crowd Jan. 15 at Manila's Villamor Air Base.

The pastoral visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, which culminates Jan. 18 at an outdoor Mass expected to draw more than four million people, is being dubbed as a “mercy and compassion visit,” said Faye Arellano of Toronto.

MANILA, Philippines - Father Matthieu Dauchez knows the children he works with are not the only poor people in the Philippines, but that has not stopped him from lobbying loudly and praying constantly that Pope Francis will stop by.