The pope’s trip to South America that includes Bolivia is set for July 5-12, though he will only spend four hours in Bolivia’s capital due to the altitude, church officials say. “I think there will be people all over the continent watching TV, all the events”, he said, saying the total number of people following the pope’s trip could be in the hundreds of millions.
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The pontiff said he was happy and grateful at the warm welcome accorded him at the first stop on his three-country tour, which will also take him to Bolivia and Paraguay.
Francis took the last few miles of the drive in an open-air pope-mobile, slowly winding toward the city while greeting people.
After citing several of the country’s saints, Francis on Sunday urged Ecuador “to confront the current challenges, valuing differences, fostering dialogue and participation without exclusion so that the achievements in progress and development that are being (made) may guarantee a better future for all”. Francis also brokered a historic thaw between the United States and Cuba, countries he will visit in September.
Among Latin America’s poorest nations, the three countries were a deliberate choice from Pope Francis, who throughout his papacy has called for the Catholic Church to be a “church for the poor”.
An estimated half a million people were on roadsides to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as he took his Popemobile into the capital of Quito.
The “pope of the poor” will highlight in his visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay his priorities of protecting the marginalized and the planet from injustice and exploitation.
“Dear friends, I begin my visit filled with excitement and hope for the days ahead”, the pope said in a short speech that followed remarks from Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, who greeted the pontiff on the tarmac.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Francis wasn’t anxious about the protests against Correa.
Correa, an avowed admirer of Francis who describes himself as a “humanist Catholic of the left”, has faced weeks of protests demanding his resignation over his policies, including an initiative to increase inheritance taxes.
The 5-15 July tour will be seen as a test of Pope Francis’ ability to reverse the dwindling Catholic flock.
Crowds lined the some 30-minute drive for the papal convoy from Quito’s airport to the downtown area, at one point forcing the convoy to speed off to avoid a mass of people.
Travel agency worker Veronica Valdeon called the Argentine pontiff “a light in the darkness”.
QUITO, Ecuador – History’s first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday, bringing a message of solidarity with the region’s poor, who are expected to turn out in droves to welcome their native son home.
However, Francis will skip his homeland of Argentina, which some attribute to his intention to stay out of the upcoming presidential elections.
After visiting Ecuador, Francis will visit Bolivia and Paraguay.
The pope will meet Tuesday with the country’s bishops and with members of civil society, and will also celebrate an outdoor Mass expected to attract crowds in the millions.
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Christians represent an overwhelming majority in Ecuador, where according to a report from Pew Research released last November, more than 79 percent of the locals define themselves as Catholics.
