SYDNEY, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - Australia's chilly winter has left many religious pilgrims in Sydney for Pope Benedict XVI's visit out in the cold, with scores unprepared for the weather, organisers said Tuesday. Some 125,000 of the Catholic faithful from around the world are expected to attend World Youth Day events from July 15 to 20, along with up to 100,000 Australian pilgrims. But with night temperatures dropping to below seven degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit), many from warmer climes have been feeling the cold, said Mark Rix, a spokesman for the Catholic Education Office which is helping accommodate thousands of pilgrims. "There have been a significant number of people, particularly from sub-Saharan countries and the Asia Pacific region, for whom winter is 25 degrees," he told AFP. "And for the nights where it's been four or five degrees, it's been a bit of a shock."
The problem prompted organisers to launch an appeal for warm clothing and blankets for the visitors, most of whom plan to camp out at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday night ahead of the Pope's final mass. Most of the pilgrims are living in school halls and classrooms and private homes during World Youth Day events, with the largest number housed at sporting venues built for Sydney's 2000 Olympics. Rix said more than 4,000 were staying at the Olympics site at Homebush but numbers were expected to swell to 14,000 next week when school children reclaimed their classrooms. "We expect that number. Everybody won't be able to fly out on the Monday or the Tuesday (after World Youth Day), some will want to stay longer. So we've kept it open for another week," he said. Followers continue to pour into Sydney, many without having registered for the event, but Rix said all could be accommodated at Homebush.
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