ANALYSIS ...

through the jungle where they at one point ran out of food and ate plants.

They eventually made it to Bangkok where they attended a local church frequented by migrant labourers.

Like Ko Sa, he used his UN refugee agency card as ID when parishes announced registration for the pontiff’s visit.

While he knows venturing out can be risky, his spirits were lifted when he saw his name on the list.

“It also strengthens my faith,” he said, adding that he would ask the Pope to “pray for refugees”.

Francis will hold two masses and meet with the Catholic community and top officials before jetting on Saturday to Japan, where he will visit Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the sites of the world’s only atomic attacks.

Some 50,000 people from Thailand and all over Southeast Asia are signed up for the Pope’s first mass on November 21 in Bangkok.

Ko Sa is attending with two relatives, one of whom is her niece Lo Mu, who made the journey to Thailand with her.

“Knowing that I’m going to see him, I can’t sleep,” Lo Mu said. Agence FrancePresse