The crowds gathered; the excitement was sky high....what, the royal baby? Nope, it was Pope Francis in Brazil; wonder what kind of media coverage this will receive?

Incredible scenes as crowds in Rio swarm around Pope’s small car

                

   

Pilgrims crowd round the Fiat which transported the Pope from Galeao airport to Rio's Cathedral

Incredible scenes in Rio as Pope drives in small car to palace and crowds surround it, anxious to touch him

gerard o'connell rio de janejro

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope in the history of the Church, looked immensely happy as he stepped back onto Latin American soil when he arrived at Rio de Janeiro’s airport,  Monday afternoon,  July 22.
 
Afterwards  – surprising everybody – he drove in a small car to the Governor’s palace amid the most extraordinary scenes as crowds swarmed around his vehicle, and Vatican security worked hard to protect him.

Everything went smoothly at the airport. Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, warmly welcomed him, and two young children presented him with bouquets of flowers in the national colors.  The President then introduced him to the many state and Church officials present.  He embraced  Brazil’s Cardinal Damasceno and the Archbishop of Rio, Orani Joao Tempesta. A choir of young people sang with great gusto.The Pope and President stopped and  listened, and he clapped with appreciation when they finished.  Then chatting  in a very familiar way with the President, he finished greeting what seemed an endless number of official guests.
 
He then  got into a very simple car – a Fiat Idea, and drove towards the motorway with minimal police escort as crowds almost mobbed his car. The papal convoy then picked up speed and drove ahead without problem, but only for a short while.  His convoy ground to a halt as it  drove down a bus lane, leaving the police outriders behind, and quickly got trapped in something resembling a traffic jam, made worse by the crowds swarming round the papal car, as everyone wanting to  touch the Pope.
 
Most incredible scenes followed as the ever growing crowd surrounded his small car, and Vatican security officials struggled  hard  to shield and protect the Pope. One woman passed her baby to one of the Vatican security and he gave the child to the  Pope who happily kissed and blessed it. Everyone pushed to touch Pope Francis, and Vatican security seemed to face an almost impossible task until the Brazilian police outriders arrived and escorted him forward.
 
At a certain stage of the journey to the palace, the Pope got out of his small car and stepped into a partially covered pope-mobile and drove through the  ever-growing crowds en route to his destination.  The Pope remained calm and composed  throughout. 
 
At a later stage of the journey he got back into his small car – the smallest in the papal convoy – but again, without outriders or security officers (who had got back into their cars. Given this situation, the crowd surrounded his  car yet again, wanting  to touch him.  This time the Brazilian police outriders moved in quickly and escorted him to a military airport where  he got into a helicopter – something not scheduled in the program.  From there he flew over the city’s skyscrapers  to the palace, where a large crowd of invited guests were waiting to greet him, including the President, The Governor of Rio State, and the mayor of the city.
 
Pope Francis likes being physically close to people, and he certainly cannot have been disappointed in his first hours in this, the most Catholic country of the world. 

Before leaving Rome, Father Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman told journalists,  this first papal visit “will be an adventure”.   How right he was! And this is only Day 1.