Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are gathered in a field outside Cologne, Germany waiting to attend Sunday's open-air Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Mass will be the highlight of the Roman Catholic pontiff's visit to the World Youth Day gathering in his native Germany. The foreign trip is the first of Benedict's papacy.
The pope late Saturday addressed hundreds of thousands of young Catholics assembled for a prayer vigil.
Earlier, the pontiff called on Germany's Muslim leaders to actively work against hatred and intolerance, which he said is at the root of terrorist violence seeking to poison relations between Christians and Muslims.
Pope Benedict also met privately with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
