Thousands gather in Dublin as World Meeting of Families opens

Thousands descended on Dublin’s Royal Dublin Society (RDS) on Tuesday evening to attend the opening ceremony.

Church bells were rung simultaneously across Ireland’s 26 dioceses to launch the five-day Catholic congress. Prayers were also said throughout the dioceses.

More than 37,000 people from 116 different countries are expected to attend the RDS for a series of events as part of the Catholic festival.

Hundreds of thousands more will attend the celebrations that will be led by Pope Francis this weekend in Dublin and Knock.

A general view of the opening ceremony of the World Meeting of Families at the RDS in Dublin.

The WMOF will culminate with the closing papal mass in the Phoenix Park on Sunday.

The event has gained huge significance since the Pope made a statement on Monday apologising for the atrocities of clerical sexual abuse.

In a letter to the world’s more than 1 billion Catholics, Pope Francis said the Church needed to move to end the culture of death within it.

Pope Francis T shirts on sale before the opening ceremony of the World Meeting of Families at the RDS in Dublin.

The opening ceremony, which was entitled Le Cheile le Criost, or Together with Christ, included hymns, psalms and prayers for the entire human family before…