Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for clerical child sex abuse
He made the comments during a visit to Knock Shrine in County Mayo
The Pope later celebrated Mass in front of huge crowds at Dublin's Phoenix Park
He spent two days in the Republic of Ireland
On Saturday, the pontiff expressed shame at the Church's failings on abuse
He also met eight Irish abuse survivors
It was the first papal visit to Ireland since Pope John Paul II's trip in 1979
Leanna Byrne
BBC News NI
Cecil, Marlon and their children, Celine and Herbert, came to Phoenix Park with the St Vincent de Paul's North Belfast group.
Originally from the Philippines, Cecil and Marlon said they saw Pope John Paul II on his visit there in 1995.
They said they don't know Pope Francis very well, which is why they're interested in what he has to say today.
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The crowd may be soaked from the rain but they're pleased to see the pontiff as he waves to the gathered crowd from the Popemobile.
Christina McSorley
BBC News NI
These people from the parish of Drummullan and Coagh on the Londonderry-Tyrone border were up early on Sunday morning to travel to Phoenix Park.
The group have come well prepared, with flasks of tea and coffee as well as homemade sandwiches.
Nicola Barker (bottom left) says the bus left at 7.20am on the dot, while Patsy Devlin (bottom middle) says she saw Pope John Paul II in 1979 and wanted to make the journey to see Pope Francis.
Anne Devlin (bottom right) says she is a bit disappointed the pontiff didn't make it across the border but nevertheless made the effort to come and see him.
Conditions are really not ideal for Pope Francis's outdoor papal Mass - everyone has ponchos on and umbrellas out as the rain comes down and a fierce wind whips through Phoenix Park.
The weather is due to improve as the afternoon goes on so fingers crossed for those currently getting soaked.
Niall Glynn
BBC News NI
Pope Francis' visit is proving as popular with Ireland's traders as it is with its church goers, with papal merch making a big splash in the lead up to his visit this weekend.
Image source, Dundalk DemocratEverything from T-shirts to candles to the aforementioned sweet treats are on sale. Read the full story here.
While Phoenix Park is getting busier, there's still plenty of space - the Mass is due to start in 45 minutes.
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Leanna Byrne
BBC News NI
Yvonne Kerr (54) and Annette Bothwell (61), from County Antrim, travelled to Dublin early this morning for the Pope’s Mass in Phoenix Park.
Yvonne says she’s interested to see what the Pope has to say, even if she’s not too involved in her local parish.
Annette is a Protestant, but said: “Who cares? I want to see him anyway."
With an hour to go until the Mass begins, Phoenix Park is beginning to look crowded.
Joe Kearney
BBC News NI
Things are very different now compared to when a Pope last visited Ireland in 1979.
Going to see Pope John Paul II felt like as much of an obligation to a young Catholic family as going to Sunday Mass.
As a nine-year-old living in a reasonably quiet area of south Belfast, my parents had done their best to insulate me from the horrors of the Troubles. Read the full story here.
Grey clouds, soft rain and even softer gospel music hangs in the air above the revelers making their mini-pilgrimage from Dublin city to Phoenix Park.
Scrums of people wearing rain jackets, hats and backpacks are directed by bunting, bobbing and weaving up to their allocated space.
Image source, Getty ImagesDeck chairs have already been wedged into place and sandwiches or other more exotic dishes (I did see a salmon curry in tupperware) have already been taken out of bags.
Flasks are being passed around, but rationed to make it through the day.
Image source, EPAThe crowd are happy to be here. All have booked their tickets in advance to see what Pope Francis has to say.
Like those at Croke Park on Saturday night, these are Pope Francis’s people.
Despite groundbreaking changes in social attitudes, official figures show the Republic of Ireland remains predominantly Catholic- underlining the importance of this weekend's visit by the Pope.
The rate of attendances at religious services also remains relatively high in Ireland, at least when compared to other European nations with large Catholic populations.
After the last pope's visit in 1979 - and his huge Mass in Phoenix Park - there was an upsurge in the number of people calling their babies John Paul.
In fact, one in ten parents opted for the name.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked some of the John Pauls about Catholicism and living with that moniker.
It takes a lot of work to cater for the thousands expected at the Mass in Phoenix Park.
Communion wafers have been produced by Redemptoristine nuns at the Monastery of St Alphonsus in Dublin, ahead of the visit.
Image source, ReutersThere's a steady stream of families and groups heading into Phoenix Park ahead of the papal Mass later. The Pope is due there about 3pm.
The Pope tweeted this after his visit to Knock Shrine:
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At 1pm, BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday News programme will be broadcasting a special one-hour programme looking at the Pope's visit to Ireland.
The programme, hosted by Seamus McKee, will feature analysis of the weekend and discussion with guests including Francis Campbell, the UK's former ambassador to Dublin, the Rev Noel Treanor, the Bishop of Down and Connor and Michael Kelly from the Irish Catholic newspaper.
Tune in at 1pm.
About 500,000 people are expected in Dublin's Phoenix Park later for the papal Mass. Among the crowd will be more than 1,000 nurses, doctors and paramedics.
Image source, AFP/Getty ImagesBeing prepared means that there will even be a mortuary, so that if anyone dies their body can be held until undertakers get to the scene.