THOUSANDS of pilgrims have converged on Sydney as it braced itself for this weekend’s arrival of the Pope and the start of World Youth Day, the biggest event held in Australia since the 2000 Olympics.

A drawn-looking Pope John Paul II, unable to preside over Palm Sunday Mass for the first time in his 26-year papacy, appeared at his apartment window to greet tens of thousands of pilgrims who filled St. Peter’s Square today.