Pope Francis pays visit to cathedral in Quito

Pope Francis visited the metropolitan cathedral of Quito, Ecuador, last night at the end of the second day of his short tour of Latin American countries.

According to Vatican Radio, after emerging from the cathedral, Pope Francis greeted the crowd that had gathered outside the building and offered them his blessing.

“I’m going to give the blessing,” he said. “I’ll give the blessing to each of you, for your families, for all loved ones and for this great nation and noble Ecuadorean people, that there be no difference, no exclusion, no people discarded, that all might be brothers and sisters, a blessing that goes to everyone and that there be none left out of this great Ecuadorian nation.”

The Pontiff’s visited to the cathedral came after he met Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa at the Carondelet Palace. Earlier in the day, Francis celebrated Mass for one more than one million people in Los Samanes Park, in Guayaquil.

During his homily, the Pope called on the faithful to pray for October’s Synod of Bishops on the family.

The synod will be a time for the Church to “deepen her spiritual discernment and consider concrete solutions to the many difficult and significant challenges facing families in our time,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis will also visit Bolivia and Paraguay during his time in Latin America, before returning to Rome on July 12.