Preparing to host the pope

Preparing to host the pope

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Young Catholics carry a wooden cross and icon of the Virgin Mary - symbols of the Church's World Youth Day - on a beach in Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro.

The crowd gathered to watch looks sizeable, but this is just a small prelude to a much bigger event: World Youth Day itself, when Pope Francis will travel to Brazil on his first international trip as pontiff to preside over the celebrations that take place from 23-28 July.

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A man runs near the statue of Brazilian writer Carlos Drummond de Andrade on Copacabana beach, where a huge celebration will take place during the pope's visit.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

A man runs near the statue of Brazilian writer Carlos Drummond de Andrade on Copacabana beach, where a huge celebration will take place during the pope's visit.

Beachgoers walk down Copacabana beach, where young people will join a welcoming ceremony for the pope.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

Beachgoers walk down Copacabana beach, where young people will join a welcoming ceremony for the pope.

The modest buildings of the Manguinhos slum, where Pope Francis will spend time on the morning of July 25, stand by the water.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

The modest buildings of the Manguinhos slum, where Pope Francis will spend time on the morning of July 25, stand by the water.

Youths play soccer on the field where Pope Francis will lead a mass when he visits the Manguinhos slum.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Youths play soccer on the field where Pope Francis will lead a mass when he visits the Manguinhos slum.

Josefa da Silva, a 76-year-old slum resident, hopes that her home will be visited by the pope during his trip.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Josefa da Silva, a 76-year-old slum resident, hopes that her home will be visited by the pope during his trip.

Residents talk in front of the Chapel of Sao Sebastiao, which the pope is expected to visit during his trip to the Manguinhos slum.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Residents talk in front of the Chapel of Sao Sebastiao, which the pope is expected to visit during his trip to the Manguinhos slum.

Seventy-six-year-old Ana Alves de Souza walks at the altar of the Chapel of Sao Sebastiao, where the pope is expected to make an appearance.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Seventy-six-year-old Ana Alves de Souza walks at the altar of the Chapel of Sao Sebastiao, where the pope is expected to make an appearance.

A cross stands on the alter in the Chapel of Sao Jeronimo, which Pope Francis is expected to visit during a trip to Manguinhos slum.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

A cross stands on the alter in the Chapel of Sao Jeronimo, which Pope Francis is expected to visit during a trip to Manguinhos slum.

A statue of Pope John Paul II, who founded World Youth Day, stands tall in front of the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral, where Pope Francis will celebrate mass.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

A statue of Pope John Paul II, who founded World Youth Day, stands tall in front of the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral, where Pope Francis will celebrate mass.

Light shines through the cross over the altar in Rio de Janeiro's Cathedral, where the pope will lead a mass on July 27.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Light shines through the cross over the altar in Rio de Janeiro's Cathedral, where the pope will lead a mass on July 27.

A man reads a newspaper at the Quinta da Boa Vista park, where Pope Francis will lead a gathering on July 26.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

A man reads a newspaper at the Quinta da Boa Vista park, where Pope Francis will lead a gathering on July 26.

A nurse leads a patient next to the square of the Hospital de Sao Francisco de Assis, where the pope will spend time on the evening of July 24.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

A nurse leads a patient next to the square of the Hospital de Sao Francisco de Assis, where the pope will spend time on the evening of July 24.

Police patrol the Casa Branca slum, where the Hospital de Sao Francisco de Assis stands visible in the background to the left. The pope will lead a mass and meet with drug addicts at the hospital during his trip.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Police patrol the Casa Branca slum, where the Hospital de Sao Francisco de Assis stands visible in the background to the left. The pope will lead a mass and meet with drug addicts at the hospital during his trip.

Eighty-two-year-old Amara Marine Oliveira, who hopes that Pope Francis will visit her home, smiles as she stands inside her house in Varginha slum.
. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

Eighty-two-year-old Amara Marine Oliveira, who hopes that Pope Francis will visit her home, smiles as she stands inside her house in Varginha slum.

"I am sure that there will be no lack of people wanting to present the Pope with a jersey from one of Rio’s four biggest soccer clubs."
Sergio Moraes, Reuters Photographer

As soon as we received the official agenda for Pope Francis’ July trip to Rio de Janeiro, we went straight out to photograph the sites that he’ll visit.

Brazil has 123 million Roman Catholics, according to the latest census – more than any other country. But many residents of Rio say that their city is the most irreverent in the world, so all Popes are received here with the slogan, “The pope is pop.” What with the large number of events that he’ll participate in here, that slogan will be on everyone’s minds.

I think the high point of the Pope’s visit will be the two days visiting Copacabana Beach, a place that every year sees two million revellers celebrating New Year.

The Rolling Stones brought 1.5 million fans to Copacabana in 2006. Since Cariocas are natural partiers, I’m sure that during the two days of the “Pop Pope” on Copacabana Beach, we’ll see millions of Catholics, non-Catholics, tourists, and many more than at any of those past events.

I can already imagine the bay full of yachts, small boats and even canoes. The sand will be occupied by pilgrims, bikini girls, beer vendors and thieves. Ironically, Cariocas will confirm that Francis is much more pop than Mick Jagger.

After the beach, the competition for the next largest event will be between the masses he will hold at a ranch in Guaratiba, in the Varginha favela, and in the Aparecida Basilica near Sao Paulo.

The day the agenda was announced and we made our rounds to photograph these places, a Varginha slum dweller immediately claimed that her home had been chosen for the Pope to visit, and the two chapels in the slum were disputing the right to host him.

But what was confirmed was that it would be a soccer field where Francis – a loyal fan of the San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer club in his native Argentina – will hold mass.

Knowing Cariocas well, I am sure that there will be no lack of people wanting to present the Pope with a jersey from one of Rio’s four biggest soccer clubs.

When Pope John Paul made his first trip to Rio in 1979, a song was composed for the occasion titled “A benção, João de Deus“ (A blessing, John of God). The song became a hit, and one day in 1980, when the immensely popular soccer club Fluminense was in a penalty shootout with Vasco da Gama, thousands of fans began to sing it. Fluminense turned the score around to win the match and the championship, and the entire stadium was convinced that it was the pope who had intervened.

During the last Vatican Conclave, people here wanted a Brazilian Pope. But when it was announced that the new Pope is from Argentina, Brazil’s greatest soccer foe, he suddenly became labelled the “first Latin American Pope” and nobody talks about or remembers the fact that he was born in the rival country.

It remains to be seen which Brazilian soccer club will be the one to win over the Pop Pope.