Thousands Gather At Central Park For Christian Rally

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Thousands of people gathered in Central Park Saturday for a huge Christian religious rally featuring well-known evangelical figures and Yankees great Mariano Rivera.

Organizers estimated tens of thousands of the faithful attended the revival Saturday evening on the park's Great Lawn, CBS2's Matt Kozar reported.

Rivera joined entertainers Mandisa, Marcos Witt, Matt Redman and Hezekiah Walker at the rally called NY CityFest.

Luis Palau, 80, a prominent evangelical Christian figure, led the rally. He's a native of Argentina who's been dubbed the "Latino Billy Graham," WCBS 880's Jim Smith reports.

"It's fantastic to see brothers and sisters just celebrating the Lord," Palau said. "This is just a very small sampling of what heaven is going to be like."

Listen to Tens Of Thousands Gather At Central Park Religious Revival

More than 1,200 Christian churches of various denominations from the New York area participated in the event.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also addressed the gathering and joined the organizers in a song.

Listen to Christians Crowds Fill Central Park To Hear Evangelist

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