BBC News: Pope starts Latin American visit in Ecuador

Francis’ stops later in the week include a violent Bolivian prison, a flood-prone Paraguayan shantytown and a meeting with grass-roots groups in Bolivia, the sort of people he ministered to in the slums of Buenos Aires.

He and the pontiff had last seen one another in Argentina in 1985 at the ordination of a student sent to Cortes by the future pope. Gregorio Borgia/AP The Catholic faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Francis for the first big event of a three-nation tour of Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia. “I’m really just a Mr. Nobody,”. In what has become a familiar scene, Francis’ motorcade was often rushed by well-wishers as enthusiastic crowds tossed flowers and gifts at the 78-year-old pontiff. They are like the five fingers of a hand, Francis recalled his mother replying.

Cortes has said the last time he spoke to Bergoglio was some 30 years ago and he couldn’t believe the pope remembered him.

After a 12-hour flight from Rome, the pope participated in a brief welcoming ceremony at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre Airport, telling government dignitaries, bishops and special guests that his pastoral work before becoming pope had taken him to Ecuador many times.

Others came from as far away as Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. When it ended, Correa ushered him to reception line of dozens that took a quarter hour to negotiate. “It’s cheaper than going to the Vatican”.

Francis said that unemployment, illness and hard situations which families experience can also lead to a lack of love in the family life. Hundreds of thousands listened to the pope on the packed dirt park while standing in the hot Sunday.

His eyes often squinting in the sun, Francis switched to an open jeep when he reached the sprawling Mass site and rode though the crowd, which authorities estimated at about 800,000. People waved handkerchiefs and Vatican flags. Correa told the pope that his country is culturally diverse, with a mixed-race majority, as well as 14 indigenous peoples, including two nomadic groups that continue to shun contact with the outside world.

On Tuesday, Francis will return to the city’s historic center to pray at the famed 18th century Church of the Society of Jesus, a gilded masterpiece of Spanish Baroque that is is on UNESCO’s world patrimony list and is named for Francis’ Jesuit order.

“Ecuador loves life”, Correa told the pope at the airport ceremony, noting that the constitution protects life from the moment of conception.

“I won’t charge you anything, but please pray for me”, Francis quipped. “Will you promise me that?” There are many circumstances today, he continued, when we can see that the “wine” – a sign of “happiness, love, and plenty” – has run out: “How many of our adolescents and young people sense that these are no longer found in their homes?” the Pope asked.

“The visit of the pope comes at a critical moment for the country, because the division between those who support the government and those who criticize it is at its highest point”, said architect Diego Moreano, 35, among those on the streets attempting to get a glimpse of the pope.

“I don’t know why he set the meeting”. The altar boys were waiting on the tarmac and approached the pontiff when he descended from his plane.

Pope Francis gives the homily while celebrating Mass in Los Samanes Park in Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 6.

While oil has brought Ecuador unparalleled revenues in recent years, the accompanying deforestation and pollution have stained its vast swathes of Amazonian rainforests, where many indigenous people live.

In this July 2, 2015 photo released by El Diario in Ecuador, Spanish Priest Francisco Cortes Garcia, affectionately known as “Father Paquito”, talks to reporters at the Javier school where he’s the director and teaches, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She says the bathroom has white walls and light that shines in from above giving it a bright feel. People of all ages attended.