Pope mass draws huge crowd

Hundreds of thousands of Angolans have gathered to listen to Pope Benedict XVI give an open-air mass, a day after a deadly stampede at another event.

The pontiff expressed his "deep sorrow" at the deaths of two women, crushed as crowds tried to get into a stadium where he was appearing on Saturday.

He also wished a speedy recovery to others hurt in the stampede.

The service in Cimangola, near the capital Luanda, is the last major event of the Pope’s seven-day African tour.

‘Very upset’

The pontiff celebrated mass on Sunday from a huge steel stage decorated with pink ribbons in the middle of a field which Vatican officials said could hold as many as two million people.

Many of the women wore pink sarongs bearing the face of the Pope and Jesus, while others had Pope Benedict’s image emblazoned on their T-shirts and baseball caps.

On a scorching day, the field gave little shelter from the sun and a few people were carried off on stretchers, apparently suffering from heat stroke, the AFP news agency reported.

The Pope was said to be "very upset" when he was informed that two people had died on Saturday.

At Sunday’s mass he extended his condolences to the victims’ families and wished those injured in Saturday’s crush a speedy recovery.

The BBC’s Louise Redvers in Luanda says security at Sunday’s mass was extremely tight.

Attack on corruption

Huge crowds have turned out at every opportunity to see Pope Benedict during his stay in Angola, where Catholics account for some 55% of the population.

The stampede happened before the Pope’s speech at Luanda’s stadium

On Saturday, the Pope urged Catholics in Angola to encourage people "living in fear of spirits" into the Church.

He said Catholics should reach out to those who believed in witchcraft and spirits.

Human rights groups say children in Angola have suffered abuse after being accused of possession by spirits.

Earlier on his trip, the Pope launched a powerful attack on corruption, which analysts say is rife in oil-rich Angola.

The Pope arrived in Angola from Cameroon on Friday.