Half a million people flocked to a giant Mass with Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal yesterday in what the Church said was a massive show of support for his handling of the paedophile priest crisis. Many were drenched by rain after a night outdoors.

The Fatima sanctuary's huge esplanade was full to overflowing and Church organisers said the crowd gathered for the outdoor Mass was bigger than that which joined Pope Benedict's popular predecessor John Paul II back in 2000 in Fatima.

The huge turnout was vibrant proof that the paedophilia scandal shaking the Church has not "weakened" the Pope's position, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Pope Benedict himself appeared buoyed by the crowd, telling them of the "great hope which burns in my own heart, and which here, in Fatima, can be palpably felt".

The 83-year-old German Pontiff has often cut a dour, professorial figure when compared to his media-savvy Polish predecessor, but five years into his Papacy he has proved a huge draw since his arrival in Portugal on Tuesday.

"I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings," Pope Benedict declared in his homily.

His Church has been engulfed in a series of unfolding sex abuse scandals amid allegations that the Vatican had wilfully protected paedophile priests from prosecution in several European countries and the United States.

A rock festival atmosphere unfolded before the Pope's arrival for Mass as flags flew, pilgrims climbed on statues of saints to get a view and the obligatory queues formed for toilets.

Yesterday's Mass was the high point of a four-day visit to Portugal and rain fell on thousands who spent the night on the esplanade in sleeping bags - and a lucky few under tents - to make sure they got a place.

"People need something that gives them hope, there are many problems in the world and it is not surprising that there are so many people here," said Maria Caldeira, 66, wearing a transparent blue plastic raincoat to protect against intermittent showers.

Earlier, the Pontiff blessed and kissed two swaddled babies thrust at him through the open window of his Popemobile, before stoking the crowd's enthusiasm by circling the esplanade on his way to the altar, smiling and waving to the massed ranks of flag- and hat-waving pilgrims.

"What's happened in the last few months, with the problems of the abuse scandal, could lead one to think that the attention and energy towards the Pope had been weakened, but that has not happened," Cardinal Lombardi told reporters.

"This energy is not being threatened by the debates of recent months, and the fact that the strength of the faith is shown in such an evident way is very encouraging," he added, referring to the huge turnout.

He said police figures estimated the turnout at around 500,000 people.

Portugnese Episcopal spokesman Manuel Morujao said several factors were responsible for the massive turnout but mainly "the fact that the image given of the Pope has been unfair".

The two-hour ceremony marked the 93rd anniversary of the Virgin Mary's reported apparitions to three shepherd children. The incident in 1917 led to the founding of the pilgrimage site, now one of Christianity's biggest.

A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, perched atop of bed of white roses and borne by soldiers, took centre stage behind a procession of bishops before the Mass began. Pilgrims threw rose petals at the statue as it passed by.

The late John Paul II credited the Virgin with deflecting an assassin's bullet in 1981 and placed the bullet taken from his body in the crown of the statue during a visit of thanksgiving the following year.

Pope Benedict has used his visit to warn Portugal of the consequences of increasing secularism in a country set to legalise gay marriage next week.

He issued a rallying call to priests, telling them on Wednesday to "take a firm stand" for their vocation.

The Pope said en route to Portugal that the problems the Church was facing came not from its enemies, but from sin within the institution itself. And he said that justice for the victims of abuse must be a priority.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI criticised gay marriage and abortion as "insidious and dangerous threats to the common good" in a speech at Fatima as Portugal prepares to legalise same-sex unions.