Hundreds of thousands of young faithful feted Pope Leo XIV like a rock star Saturday at an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, after the head of the Catholic Church made a dramatic entrance by helicopter.

By Joshua McElwee ROME (Reuters) -Hundreds of thousands of young people filled a vast field on the outskirts of Rome on Saturday to see Pope Leo, in the largest event yet of the new Catholic pontiff's tenure,

The pope urged the young Catholics, hailing from nearly 150 countries, to value true friendship and to do good in the world: 'Friendship is a path to peace.' Though 500,000 attendees were initially expected,