Oops! Now you see him, now you don't... Pope gets the wind up on Copacabana Beach

 
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' mantle while giving mass to thousands of youths on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro July, 25, 2013. Pope Francis on Thursday issued his first social manifesto, calling on the rich to wipe out vast inequalities, and later received an ecstatic welcome from up to a million people on Rio's famed Copacabana beach.
REUTERS/Luca Zennaro

Now you see him... a gust of wind blew Pope Francis' mantle right across his face in front of more than a million people on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

But Francis kept his cool and carried on giving mass as he presided over the opening of the Catholic youth festival, World Youth Day.

Under control: a papal aide sorts out the mantle as the Pope coolly carries on with mass
AFP

The first Latin American pontiff is on his first overseas trip since his election. Borne along by adoring crowds on the fourth day of his visit, he waded into the country's ramshackle slums and onto the front line of its fierce national battle over poverty and corruption, before going to the much wealthier district of Copacabana.

The Pope's relentless pace is said to be wearing out his aides. The 76-year-old Argentine Jesuit, who lost most of one lung following an infection in his youth, has been acting like a man half his age, adding in events at the last minute to his already full schedule and gamely going with the flow after heavy rains forced major changes in the World Youth Day agenda.

Faithfully waiting: a crowd of 1.5 million Catholics greeted the Pope Copacabana Beach
AFP/Getty

His spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said such vigorous activity has been the norm at the Vatican since Francis arrived, saying the usually staid bureaucrats were getting "stressed out" by his pace - and that that was a good thing.

But he quipped: "I'm happy we're half-way through because if it were any longer I'd be destroyed."

Francis yesterday added two unscheduled events to an already full day: a morning mass with 300 seminarians from the region, and then a meeting at Rio's cathedral with 30,000 Argentine pilgrims.

Pope of the people: Francis meets residents of the favela Varginha in Rio
EPA

Asked when Francis would return to his home country, Mr Lombardi said there were no plans for a trip to Argentina next year, as had been widely expected.

He said the Pope planned to visit another continent as he has been to Brazil this year and, as he announced unexpectedly on Wednesday, will be returning in 2017 to mark the 300th anniversary of the discovery of the statue of the Virgin of Aparecida, Brazil's patron saint.

Francis, dubbed the "slum pope" for his work with the poor, had earlier received a rapturous welcome from one of Rio de Janeiro's most violent shantytowns, and demanded the world's wealthy end the injustices that have left the poor on the margins of society.

Shelter: an aide keeps Francis dry from the rain during the welcome for World Youth Day on Copacabana Beach
Getty

Amid the stench of raw sewage and the shrieks of residents, Francis made his way through Varginha, part of a region so violent it is known as the Gaza Strip. He seemed entirely at home, wading into the cheering crowds, kissing residents young and old and telling them the Catholic Church was on their side.

"No one can remain insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the world," Francis told a crowd of thousands who braved a cold rain and stood in a muddy football field to welcome him. "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."

Cuddly pontiff: young Catholics with Pope Francis dolls before the pope's arrival on Copacabana Beach
Reuters

Francis's open-air car was mobbed on a few occasions as he headed into Varginha's heavily policed streets lined with brick shacks, but he never seemed in danger.

He was showered with gifts as he walked down one of the slum's main drags without an umbrella to shield him from the rain. A well-wisher gave him a paper lei to hang around his neck and he held up a scarf from his favourite football team, Buenos Aires' San Lorenzo, that was offered to him.

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