Frenzied crowds of Roman Catholics mobbed the car carrying Pope Francis on Monday when he returned to his home continent for the first time as pontiff, embarking on a seven-day visit meant to fan the fervor of the faithful.
During the pope’s first minutes in Brazil, ecstatic believers swarmed the closed Fiat several times when it was forced to stop by heavy traffic on the drive from the airport to an official opening ceremony in Rio’s center. A few security guards struggled mightily to push the crowd back in scenes that at times looked alarming. A city official told Globo TV that the pope’s driver turned into the wrong side of a boulevard and missed lanes that had been cleared.
After finally making it past crowds and blocked traffic, Francis switched to an open-air popemobile as he toured the main streets in downtown Rio through mobs of people who screamed wildly as he waved and smiled. Many in the crowd looked stunned, with some standing still and others sobbing loudly.
Idaclea Rangel, 73, was pressed up against a wall and choking out words through her tears. “I can’t travel to Rome, but he came here to make my country better … and to deepen our faith,” she said.
At the airport earlier, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vigorously shook Francis’ hand after he descended the stairs following a no-frills charter flight that arrived about 4 p.m. He made no public statements. The pope was handed two bouquets of white and yellow flowers by two adolescent girls, each of whom he kissed on the cheek.
Reaching the end of the red carpet full of church leaders and other dignitaries, Francis and the Brazilian president paused to be serenaded by a choir of about three dozen young people singing an anthem linked to World Youth Day, an event uniting hundreds of thousands of young faithful from around the globe. Before singing, the kids robustly yelled soccer-like chants in the pope’s honor.
Outside the Guanabara government palace in Rio where the pope was being officially welcomed, Alicia Velazquez, a 55-year-old arts teacher from Buenos Aires, waited to catch a glimpse of the man she knew well when he was archbishop of her hometown.
“It was so amazing when he was selected; we just couldn’t believe it. We cried and hugged one another,” Velazquez said. “I personally want to see if he’s still the same man as simple and humble whom we all knew. I have faith that he’s remained the same.”
It was the first time the Argentine-born Francis returned to his home continent since his selection as pope in March.
During his stay, the 76-year-old pope will meet with legions of young Catholics converging for the church’s World Youth Festival in Rio. More than 1 million people are expected to pack the white sands of Copacabana for ceremonies presided over by Francis. He will also visit a tiny chapel in a trash-strewn slum and make a side trip to venerate Brazil’s patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida.
Playing out alongside the papal visit is political unrest in Brazil, where widespread anti-government protests that began last month have continued.
With the exception of gay rights groups and others angered by the church’s doctrine against abortion and same-sex marriages, the target of most protesters won’t be Francis but the government and political corruption
When Francis talks with Rousseff, they are likely to focus on the poor. Upon taking office, the Brazilian leader declared that eradicating extreme poverty was her top goal as president, and she has expanded a network of social welfare programs that have helped lift almost 30 million Brazilians out of poverty in the last decade.
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