The Pontiff was met by President Dilma Rousseff a few minutes
after his plane kissed the ground at Rio de Janeiro airport.
The
first Latin-Argentina born pope made his first visit to Brazil as Pontiff to
attend the Roman Catholic World Youth Day festival. Soon after his arrival he
was played an anthem linked to Youth Day and he was presented with a bouquet of
flowers.
The
Pope greeted the crowds before being taken by motorcade to the centre of Rio,
where thousands of pilgrims have gathered and later gave a speech.
The
Pope urged young Catholics to "make disciples of all nations".
"I
came to meet young people coming from all over the world, drawn to the open
arms of Christ the Redeemer," the head of the holy sea said while at the
Rio state governor's palace.
Meanwhile,
security was tightened ahead of his visit following weeks of riots in a number
of cities across Brazil. The Brazilian military said they had discovered a
homemade explosive device at a shrine between Rio and Sao Paulo that the Pope
is due to visit later this week. The pontiff has however insisted that security
operatives should not prevent him getting in direct contact with the local
people.
The
smiling pope looked calm and happy at the time of his arrival and as he was
driven into Rio de Janeiro in a modest family car, with the window wound down
and security officials struggled to keep back the crowds. The motorcade was
slowed down by the infamous traffic Jam of Rio de Janeiro for some time giving
hope to some faithful who wanted to get a glimpse of the Catholic prince.
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| the room where pope will be spending his night while in Brazil |
When they reached in the city center the Pope was moved to an
open-air Pope mobile where he traveled waving at the tens of thousands who
lined the streets he traveled through.
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