Sydney  - Almost 300 pilgrims who came to Sydney last year to hear Pope Benedict XVI say Mass didn't leave at the end of the World Youth Day celebrations and are still in hiding.

Half the 550 pilgrims who overstayed their visas have been caught and sent home but there are 280 still on the run, the Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Department of Immigration spokesman Sandi Logan said the overstayers represented less than 0.3 per cent of World Youth Day visitors.

Those among the 110,000 given visas for the papal visit who didn't go home are mostly from India, Vietnam, Pakistan and South Pacific countries. (dpa)