Many thousands of people have been celebrating Mass with Pope Francis at a university campus in Kenya. Pope Francis made a plea for traditional values, saying "the health of any society depends on the health of its families".
The Pope earlier urged Kenyans to work for peace and reconciliation on his first trip as pontiff to Africa, amid a rise in militant violence.
He arrived in Kenya on Wednesday, the first stop on a three-nation tour.
Crowds in the capital, Nairobi, waited in the rain at the University of Nairobi sports ground since the early hours of Thursday morning. More than one million were expected to attend the Mass. Image caption
People rushed to get in the queue to hear the Mass at the university
Image caption
Crowds then waited in the rain to join those inside
Wearing a robe embroidered to look like beads worn
by the Maasai, Pope Francis told them: "Our faith in God's word calls us
to support families in their mission in society, to accept children as a
blessing for our world, and to defend the dignity of each man and
woman, for all of us are brothers and sisters in the one human family."
He
also spoke about abortion and the need for a caring society: "We are
also called to resist practices which foster arrogance in men, hurt or
demean women, and threaten the life of the innocent unborn."
And he appealed to young Kenyans "to shape a society which is ever more just, inclusive and respectful of human dignity".
He said they "should reject everything that leads to prejudice and discrimination".
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Media captionPope Francis: ''All men and women of good will are called to work for reconciliation and peace, forgiveness and healing''Ahead of the Mass, Francis had been meeting with religious
leaders, who he said should be "prophets of peace" in a violent and
hate-driven world.
The Pope earlier said conflict and terrorism fed "on fear, mistrust, and the despair born of poverty and frustration".
The pontiff has played down security fears about his trip, joking that he was "more worried about the mosquitoes".
A leading Muslim cleric in Kenya welcomed the visit, saying it gave hope to the "downtrodden in the slums". Image caption
Pope Francis was wearing a robe that was specially embroidered for the occassion
Image caption
President Uhuru Kenyatta gives Pope Francis a thumbs up at Nairobi's State House on Wednesday
Pope Francis's five-day visit will also see him go
to Uganda and Central African Republic, which has been hit by
Christian-Muslim conflict.
Kenya's government has said that up to 10,000 police officers may be deployed during the visit.
Militant
Islamists have carried out a series of attacks in Kenya - including the
2013 siege at Nairobi's Westgate shopping centre, which left at least
67 dead, and the killing of about 150 people during an assault on the
Garissa National University College in April this year. Image caption
Pope Francis is the fourth pontiff to visit Africa
Image caption
About 30% of Kenyans are Catholic
Pope Francis is later expected to visit the
headquarters of the UN Environment Programme, and he has already spoken
of a "grave environmental crisis" facing the world, and said leaders
needed to promote "responsible models of economic development".
Speaking
on Wednesday he also made a veiled reference to corruption by calling
on leaders to work with integrity and transparency, says the BBC's
Joseph Odhiambo in Nairobi.
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Catholic Africa Christian population is 517 million (63% of total) Protestants make up more than half the number Catholics make up about a third Muslim population is 248 million (about 30% of total) 1.1 billion Christians expected by 2050 670 million Muslims expected by 2050
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