Sydney - Not all the 225,000 pilgrims at Sydney's week-long Catholic youth festival are hoping that the picture-perfect weather holds until after the closing open-air Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. "Rain. We are praying for the drought to break," local youngster Johanna Kelly told the Daily Telegraph on Friday.
The worst drought on record forced the sale of the family farm last year. Her Father is out of work and the family of seven get by on her mother's wage as a teacher.
Kelly, 19, is one of 100,000 local pilgrims in Australia's biggest city to meet the pope and proclaim her faith at World Youth Day.
"Drought is such a large part of Australia and while it does challenge people's faith at times, it has to rain eventually," she said.
Years of failed harvests have driven thousands of farmers from the land, and provoked suicides that the Farmers Federation says are running at the rate of one a week.
Father Mark Podesta, the World Youth Day spokesman, is hoping that the Sunday's papal Mass won't be a wet one.
"There have been a large number of people who have been praying for nice weather for the whole week and so far the weather has been beautiful," he said. "But, at the end of the day, the Mass will go ahead whatever."
The priest Podesta wouldn't say whether he was among those praying for clear skies.
"Pilgrims should bring warm clothes and bring weatherproof gear so they'll be ready for rain or any adverse weather conditions" was all he was prepared to say.
