教宗訪問南美三國
Pope Francis, the first South American pontiff, has returned to that continent to begin an eight-day visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.
The 78-year-old Jesuit pope landed in Ecuador's capital, Quito, Sunday afternoon, on the first leg of his visit, where he was greeted by President Rafael Correa and church dignitaries.
Huge crowds also gathered along the route from the airport to the papal nuncio's residence, where Francis will be staying. "I am happy for the blessing of having a Father who comes from so far away to see his children," said one pilgrim.
The pope is planning to celebrate a Mass in eight languages Monday. Later in the trip, he is planning a visit to a violent Bolivian prison, a meeting with Bolivian trash collectors and a stop at a flood-prone Paraguayan shantytown.
As he left Rome, Francis said he wanted to emphasize the plight of impoverished people in the three countries he is visiting, "especially children in need, the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned, the poor, those who are victims of this throwaway culture."
The Roman Catholic Church has about 1.2 billion followers, with a large portion of them in Latin America. Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are three of South America's poorest and smallest countries.首位來自南美洲的羅馬天主教宗教宗方濟各星期天返回南美洲，對厄瓜多爾、玻利維亞和巴拉圭進行八天訪問。
78歲的教宗方濟各星期天下午抵達南美之行的第一站厄瓜多爾首都基多，厄瓜多爾總統科雷亞和教會要人前往迎接。
從機場到教宗下榻的教廷大使官邸，沿途有很多歡迎的人羣。一位朝聖者說， 他很高興教宗遠道而來，看望他們。
教宗星期一將用8種語言主持彌撒。他還要訪問一個玻利維亞暴力犯人監獄，跟玻利維亞收垃圾的工人見面，並訪問巴拉圭一個易受洪水襲擊的貧民區。
教宗在離開羅馬的時候說，他要強調這三個國家裏窮人的困境，特別是需要救助的兒童、老人、病人，囚犯和窮人等，他們都是用過即丟消費主義文化的受害者。
羅馬天主教會有大約12億信徒，其中很大一部分在拉丁美洲。厄瓜多爾、玻利維亞和巴拉圭是南美洲最窮和最小的國家。
