Nazareth, northern Israel - Tens of thousands of foreign pilgrims and local Arab Christians gathered after dawn Thursday on a hill outside Nazareth for the biggest religious event of Pope Benedict XVI's five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas.

Ahead of the Mass, groups of Catholic pilgrims sang, danced, played guitars and drums, and held up flags from across the globe, including Italy, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Several thousand police were guarding the large-scale Mass on the Mount of Precipice, the cliff from which, according to the New Testament of the Bible, an angry crowd had attempted to throw off Jesus.