Communion has ended at the papal Mass - the event required thousands of Communion servers with the aim of delivering the sacrament to everyone within 20 minutes.

Want a run down of some more pub-quiz friendly, Pope-in-Ireland numbers - including the numbers of toilets needed? Read on.

Christina McSorley
BBC News NI

Among the crowd at the papal Mass is Kate Smith, who has travelled from Mullaghbawn in County Armagh. Her granny packed a picnic of treats and sandwiches because her mammy was on holidays in Majorca.

Kate is hoping to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis so she can tell her friends she saw him when school starts back next month.

In Phoenix Park, the papal Mass is entering its final stages. Shortly the sacrament of communion will be begin, with 4,000 volunteer communion servers on stand-by to assist.

Marie Collins, an abuse survivor who also met the Pope on Saturday evening, says she was disappointed there wasn't going to be a more open accountability process.

Read more here.

Pope Francis must "get his head around" the struggles of those who have been abused by priests, says one survivor.

Fr Patrick McCafferty was one of eight abuse victims who met the pontiff in Dublin on Saturday.

While the papal Mass goes on in Phoenix Park, about 1,000 people gathered in Tuam, County Galway, for a silent vigil - while thousands are attending a Stand4Truth event in Dublin to show solidarity with the victims of institutional abuse.

The silent vigil in Tuam is in remembrance of the Tuam babies.

The remains of up to 800 babies were found at the site of a former mother and baby home in Tuam in 2017.

Pope Francis recites part of St Patrick's Breastplate at the end of his homily.

"As we now prepare to go our separate ways, let us renew our fidelity to the Lord and to the vocation he has given to each of us," he says.

"Taking up the prayer of Saint Patrick, let each of us repeat with joy: "Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.'

"With the joy and strength given by the Holy Spirit, let us say to him with confidence: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

In his homily, the head of the Catholic Church spoke of challenges faced by today's Christians.

"The challenges that Christians face today are, in their own way, no less difficult than those faced by the earliest Irish missionaries," he says.

"I think of Saint Columbanus, who with his small band of companions brought the light of the Gospel to the lands of Europe in an age of darkness and cultural dissolution.

Image source, Reuters

"Their extraordinary missionary success was not based on tactical methods or strategic plans, but on a humble and liberating docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

"It was their daily witness of fidelity to Christ and to each other that won hearts yearning for a word of grace and helped give birth to the culture of Europe.

"That witness remains a perennial source of spiritual and missionary renewal for God's holy and faithful people."

There were 500,000 people expected in Phoenix Park for today's papal Mass but there's no doubt the number is way lower than that. Some are reporting an unconfirmed figure of approximately 200,000.

Whether people were put off by the poor weather or there were other factors at play, the attendance - compared to the 1.5m people who came to the park to see Pope John Paul II in 1979 - is likely to be a talking point in the coming weeks.

The pontiff has a Northern Ireland company to thank for providing the altar furniture for this afternoon's Mass in Phoenix Park - including the chair he'll be sitting on.

Image source, Specialist Joinery Group

Specialist Joinery Group, from Maghera in County Londonderry, were first approached by the Church six months ago with a view to providing the furniture.

Company chairman John Bosco O'Hagan said it had been a "privilege and an honour" to do the work.

Pope Francis begins the Mass by asking for forgiveness "for the abuses in Ireland, abuses of power, conscience and sexual abuses perpetrated by members with roles of responsibility for the church".

He adds: "In a special way, we ask pardon for all the abuses committed in various types of institutions run by male or female religious (orders) and by other members of the Church.

"And we ask for forgiveness for those cases of exploitation through manual work that so many young women and men we subjected to. We ask forgiveness."

His words bring a round of applause from those gathered in Phoenix Park.

Pope Francis arrives on stage for the beginning of the papal Mass - he begins by kissing the altar.

The crowd get ready for the Pope to arrive on stage.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar may wonder as he looks skyward at Phoenix Park. Meanwhile, no poncho required for President Michael D Higgins.

One of the main problems for the Catholic Church in Ireland, at present, is finding the manpower to minister to its flock.

A country that was once home to the largest seminary in the world, and which sent thousands of its missionaries around the globe, no longer has enough priests for all its parishes. Read more here.

The Pope is currently making his way around Phoenix Park, greeting and waving to the gathered crowd.

No sign of him making his way to the stage as yet.