The first Pope from Latin America has arrived in Brazil on his first trip abroad since being selected of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.  He was greeted by tens of thousands of happy pilgrims.

Pope Francis was met by cheering crowds and President Dilma Rousseff at Rio de Janeiro Airport, and made his way downtown in a minivan with the windows opened – not the bulletproof Mercedes-Benz M-Class “Popemobiles” of his two predecessors – smiling and waving at the people.  This might make security problematic, but Brazil has put 30 thousand cops and security personnel on the visit.

Francis plans on an open air mass at Copacabana beach, as well as a visit to the Varginha Favela, one of the most destitute communities in Rio, and suffering a crime rate that makes a lot of police think twice before going in.  Military police insist the area will be “pacified” so that the drug gangs that rule it will not be able to operate during Francis’ visit.

More than a million young Catholics are expected to gather in Rio for the Pope’s appearance at World Youth Day, with events taking place from Tuesday through Sunday.