Quito, Ecuador • Latin America's first pope returned to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time Sunday, stressing the need to protect the poor and the environment from exploitation and to foster dialogue among all sectors of society.
Children in traditional dress greeted Francis at Mariscal Sucre airport outside Ecuador's capital, the wind blowing off his skullcap and whipping his white cassock as he descended from the plane after a 13-hour flight from Rome. He greeted and kissed several indigenous youths waiting for him on the side of the red carpet.
In a speech in front of President Rafael Correa, Francis signaled some of the key themes for the visit, which will also take him to Bolivia and Paraguay: the need to care for society's most marginal, guarantee socially responsible economic development, and defend the Earth against profit-at-all-cost development, which he says harms the poor the most.
"From the peak of Chimborazo to the Pacific coast, from the Amazon rainforest to the Galapagos Islands, may you never lose the ability to thank God for what he has done and is doing for you," he said from the tarmac. "May you never lose the ability to protect what is small and simple, to care for your children and your elderly who are the memory of your people, to have confidence in the young, and to be constantly struck by the nobility of your people and the singular beauty of your country."
It's a message that is particularly relevant for Ecuador, a Pacific nation of 15 million people that is home to one of the world's most species- diverse ecosystems. While oil has brought Ecuador unparalleled revenues in recent years, the accompanying deforestation and pollution have stained its vast swaths of Amazonian rainforests where many indigenous peoples live.
The "slum pope" chose to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay specifically because they are among the poorest and most marginal nations of a region that claims 40 percent of the world's Catholics. He's skipping his homeland of Argentina, where he ministered to the poorest slum-dwellers while archbishop, to avoid papal entanglement in this year's presidential election.
On Monday, the 78-year-old pontiff will fly an hour south to Ecuador's steaming Pacific port city of Guayaquil, where more than 1 million people are expected to attend his first public Mass.
A street vendor sells flags with image of Pope Francis at the entrance of Samanes Park where Pope Francis will give a mass in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Francis is making his first visit as pope to his Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He'll travel to three South American nations, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which are beset by problems that concern him deeply, income inequality and environmental degradation. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
An street seller offers images of Pope Francis for sale in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Francis is making his first visit as pope to his Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He'll travel to three South American nations, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which are beset by problems that concern him deeply, income inequality and environmental degradation. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Ecuadors President Rafael Correa, right, greets Pope Francis upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito Sunday, July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pope Francis waves upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Ecuadors President Rafael Correa, center, chats with Pope Francis upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito Sunday July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. (AP Photo/Fernando llano)
Pope Francis waves upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Ecuadors President Rafael Correa, right, greets Pope Francis upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito Sunday, July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Ecuadors President Rafael Correa, center, chats with Pope Francis upon his arrival to the Mariscal Sucre International airport in Quito Sunday July 5, 2015. History's first Latin American pope returns to Spanish-speaking South America for the first time on Sunday to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. (AP Photo/Fernando llano)
A gust of wind blows Pope's Francis skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' skull cap upon his arrival at Quito Airport, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on the occasion of his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he rides aboard the Popemobile in streets of Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Francis is making his first visit as pope to his Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He'll travel to three South American nations, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which are beset by problems that concern him deeply, income inequality and environmental degradation. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he rides aboard the Popemobile in streets of Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Francis is making his first visit as pope to his Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He'll travel to three South American nations, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which are beset by problems that concern him deeply, income inequality and environmental degradation. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Pope Francis laughs as he meets the journalists aboard the papal airplane on the occasion of his visit to Quito, Ecuador, July 5, 2015. The Pontiff is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay during his Apostolic trip from July 5 to July 12. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)