Members of the Philippine National Police walk past a banner with an image of Pope Francis as they go to their designated area in Manila January 15, 2015. REUTERS/ Cheryl Ravelo
MANILA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Manila on Thursday, cheering Pope Francis as he began his first visit to Asia's largest Catholic nation amid one of the biggest security operations in Philippine history.
The other pontiffs to visit the Philippines were both targets of assassination attempts, prompting the deployment of nearly 50,000 soldiers and police in the capital and in the central Philippine province of Leyte for his weekend trip there.
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