Brazil crowds greet Pope Francis
Afp, Rio De Janeiro
Pope Francis’s popularity on his Latin American home turf posed a challenge to Brazilian authorities yesterday after adoring crowds mobbed his car on his landmark visit to Rio de Janeiro.
The fervor that surrounded the pontiff’s arrival Monday initially wrong-footed the organizers of the trip, which began with a raucous reception from throngs of cheering pilgrims.
Despite heightened security for Latin America’s first pope, legions of Roman Catholics were able to block his convoy and reach inside his car’s open window.
The 76-year-old Argentine appeared delighted and waved and smiled while bodyguards struggled to keep people at bay. His secretary later admitted to being terrified, but the pope was upbeat.
“Thank you to all of you and to all the authorities for a magnificent welcome in Rio,” the pope wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The authorities blamed the chaos on bad internal communication.
The city government said the pope’s driver had taken a wrong turn, keeping the car stuck in traffic for several minutes.
The fervor that surrounded the pontiff’s arrival Monday initially wrong-footed the organizers of the trip, which began with a raucous reception from throngs of cheering pilgrims.
Despite heightened security for Latin America’s first pope, legions of Roman Catholics were able to block his convoy and reach inside his car’s open window.
The 76-year-old Argentine appeared delighted and waved and smiled while bodyguards struggled to keep people at bay. His secretary later admitted to being terrified, but the pope was upbeat.
“Thank you to all of you and to all the authorities for a magnificent welcome in Rio,” the pope wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The authorities blamed the chaos on bad internal communication.
The city government said the pope’s driver had taken a wrong turn, keeping the car stuck in traffic for several minutes.
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