Colombians give Pope Francis rapturous welcome
- Published
Francis arrived in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, on Wednesday. He was met off the Alitalia plane by President Juan Manuel Santos and his wife María Clemencia Rodríguez. who introduced him to a group of children.
The plane's flight path had to be changed to avoid Hurricane Irma. Instead of flying over Puerto Rico, the plane instead took a route over Barbados, Grenada and Trinidad. Thanks to wireless internet on the flight, journalists on board were able to file live updates.
Pope Francis was given a "ruana", a type of poncho traditionally worn in the Andes region of Colombia and Venezuela.
Thousands of people lined the route the Popemobile took through the streets of Bogotá.
The atmosphere was joyous and members of the security forces were happy to take pictures of those gathering to greet the Pope
Others came prepared with selfie sticks.
Pope Francis praised local people for the "heroism" they showed during Colombia's more than five-decade-long armed conflict.
Brayan Fernandez shows off a rosary he was given by the Pope. Francis asked young people gathered in front of the papal mission to not lose hope. "Don't let yourselves be beaten," he said.