By Eric Marrapodi, Shasta Darlington and Miguel Marquez, CNN
Rio de Janeiro (CNN) – Pope Francis visited one of
Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous and impoverished neighborhoods Thursday,
saying that no society pushing the poor to the margins can succeed.
"I say: You are not alone; the church is with you; the pope is with
you," Francis told residents of the notorious Varginha favela, or slum.
"I carry each of you in my heart, and I make my own the intentions
that you carry deep within you: thanksgiving for joys, pleas for help in
times of difficulty, a desire for consolation in times of grief and
suffering."
Francis, whose concern for the poor has
earned him the nickname the "slum pope" in Latin America, is in Brazil
through Sunday for World Youth Day, a weeklong Catholic event.
Huge crowds have gathered wherever
Francis goes, providing an early indicator of the new pope's immense
popularity during his first overseas trip as leader of the Roman
Catholic Church.
On Wednesday, Francis visited a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary
and what he called "a shrine to suffering," a Rio hospital that treats
drug addicts.
Francis traveled to Varginha on
Thursday to deliver a speech on poverty, hope and social justice, steady
themes thus far in his young papacy.
"Shortly after his election to the papacy, Pope Francis called for a
'church for the poor,' " said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Canadian priest
who assists the Vatican communications department. "His visit today ...
offers us a unique opportunity to see the Bishop of Rome giving flesh
and blood to those words."
The pope was driven to the favela in the open-air "popemobile,"
occasionally reaching out to touch the crowds. Women along the route
thrust infants over the barricades for the pope to bless.
Volunteers linked arms to hold the crowd back in spots without
barricades. Hundreds of military and police lined the route, and more
than a dozen motorcycle officers followed.
Brazilian officials have voiced concern
about the pope's security, upgrading it Wednesday to "high risk" after
crowds swarmed a car carrying the pope shortly after his arrival two
days earlier.
Varginha is deemed "occupied" by the Brazilian government after
police took over the community last year, forcing out drug gangs who had
controlled it for decades. Despite the heavy police presence, locals
say the area remains dangerous after dark.
In Varginha, Francis stopped at a small stone Catholic chapel called
San Girolamo Emiliani, where he said a short silent prayer, blessed a
new altar and presented the community with a new chalice.
Outside, a group of children presented the pontiff with a soccer scarf from his favorite Argentine club.
From the chapel, he walked in the rain into a house and then to a
soccer stadium, weaving from one side of the road to the other and
greeting onlookers with a broad smile splashed across his face.
At the soccer stadium, a crowd of 3,000 gathered, including Marilene
da Luz, a retired cashier who jumped up and down to the music playing.
“He’s such a humble man, it makes sense that he comes to the favelas; this is where the humble people are,” da Luz said.
Speaking in Portuguese, the pope told the rain-soaked capacity crowd
he wanted to visit every house in Brazil and have a small coffee with
people. But “no cachaca,” he joked, referring to the strong Brazilian
liquor popular with the poor.
Francis addressed the crowd in plain language, telling them that even the poor have much to offer.
"You can offer the world a valuable lesson in solidarity, a word that
is too often forgotten or silenced, because it is uncomfortable,” the
pope said.
Francis' visit comes after a month of antigovernment protests in
Brazil that often turned violent. Protesters have cited their anger over
corruption and lack of government services.
At Varginha, the pope seemed to speak directly to those concerns and was met with cheers.
"Brazil, there are many young people. Dear young friends, you have a
particular sensitivity towards injustice, but you are often disappointed
by facts that speak of corruption on the part of people who put their
own interests before the common good," he said.
"To you and to all, I repeat: Never yield to discouragement; do not lose trust; do not allow your hope to be extinguished."
“No amount of ‘peace-building’ will be able to last, nor will harmony
and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the
margins or excludes a part of itself,” he said.
“The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it
treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their
poverty!”
The pope stressed that a nation must be built on the fundamentals of life, family, education, health and security.
"Let us always remember this: Only when we are able to share do we
become truly rich," he told the large crowd, including slum residents,
gathered in the soccer stadium. "Everything that is shared is
multiplied!"
Even in Varginha, a neighborhood where poverty, drugs and violence had run rampant, hope must continue, he said.
“Situations can change; people can change. Be the first to seek to bring good; do not grow accustomed to evil but defeat it.”
Later Thursday, the pope was to lead a religious service on
Copacabana Beach, with upward of 1 million Catholics expected to attend.
CNN’s Barbara Arvanitidis, Hada Messia and Daniel Burke contributed to this report.
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