Pope Francis met by huge crowd on visit to typhoon-hit Tacloban in Philippines

The pope was celebrating a Mass in an open field near the airport

Pope Francis greets the crowds (AFP)

Pope Francis donned a yellow poncho to brave the weather in Tacloban as thousands turned out to celebrate mass amidst the devastation still present from Typhoons Ruby and Haiyan.

The Pope had promised to visit the people suffering from the combined effects of two typhoons that ripped through southeast Asia in 2013 and 2014, causing huge damage in The Philippines. United Nations figure estimate that roughly 11 million people may have been affected by Haiyan.

In a heartfelt speech, and ignoring his prepared homily, Pope Francis conceded it was hard to find the right words to comfort the thousands left homeless or those that had lost family members.

Thousands turned out to hear the Pope speak (AFP)

"So many of you have lost everything," he told almost 150,000 Catholics assembled in the muddy pitch, many of them also wearing yellow plastic ponchos to keep the rain off.

With the wind howling about the 78-year-old religious leader, the altar cloth and candlesticks were rocked back and forth as the Pope delivered his message.

"I don't know what to say to you, but the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you lost part of your families.

“All I can do is keep silent. And I walk with you all with my silent heart," he told the crowd through an interpreter, talking in his native Spanish as he frequently does when speaking off-the-cuff.

The crowd broke into a spontaneous round of applause when the Pope told them he had decided to visit Tacloban, a city of 200,000 that was among the worst damaged by Haiyan, in the days following the storm’s landing.

The Pope battled with elements when giving his sermon (AP)

After mass the Pope was driving past cheering crowds to eat lunch with 30 survivors of Haiyan before having to unexpectedly cut his visit short.

The arrival of Tropical Storm Mekkhala forced the Pope to return to his plane ahead of schedule after warnigns from the Philippines Airlines pilot over bad weather conditions for fluying.

Apologising to the congregation in Palo’s (a city in Leyte prvince) cathedral, the Pope said: "I am sad about this, truly saddened."