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Hundreds of thousands of cheering, chanting Sydneysiders and young Catholic pilgrims thronged the harbour and downtown streets as Pope Benedict XVI made his official arrival in Australia's largest city yesterday.
Amid tight security and mass exhilaration, the Pope disembarked to roaring applause and a sea of waving flags at Barangaroo, the former dockland that has been taken over by World Youth Day.
His voyage around the harbour launched what youth day organisers had dubbed "super holy Thursday".
The Pope boarded the four-level MV Sydney 2000 carrying gum leaves presented during a welcome by Aborigines sporting kangaroo skins and white ochre on their faces. He was accompanied by his entourage and 270 international pilgrims - including Auckland seminarian Cameron Surrey, one of 16 selected to meet the Pontiff.
An excited group on the roof of the vessel waved their countries' flags and sang.
Behind the vessel on its slow, stately voyage was a flotilla of other chartered boats.
Shouts of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - oi, oi, oi" drifted across the harbour as they passed. Screams and yells drowned out the sound of helicopters hovering overhead as part of a massive security operation.
As the red and orange ocean of pilgrims cheered themselves hoarse, the Pope climbed into the white Mercedes V8 Popemobile, its tall papal compartment disguising its ability to go from 0-100km/h in about six seconds.
Surrounded by black-suited security guards, Benedict waved as the vehicle moved through the crowds at a walking pace before being greeted again by didgeridoos and Aboriginal dancers and mounting a red-carpeted dais for his welcome by Sydney prelate Cardinal George Pell.
Anna Grafin von Spee, 20, from Bonn, was dewy-eyed after speaking to the Pope in his native German. "It feels like a dream but it was true," she said. "It will take a while for me to believe that it happened."
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AAP
