Pope Francis returned on July 22 to his native continent for his first overseas trip as pontiff.
He touched down at Brazil, where Catholics have been eagerly awaiting his arrival. Massive crowds are expected to gather for the Argentine-born 76-year-old at Copacabana beach where he will hold mass.
It was the first time the Argentine-born Francis had returned to his home continent since his selection as pope in March. Francis has spoken often of the need for humility in the church, and he kept to that message Monday; the pope carried his own black hand luggage as he boarded a special Alitalia flight from Rome.
Later, on the flight from Rome, Francis expressed concern for a generation of youth growing up jobless as the world economy sputters.
The message should resonate with the young people in the mammoth crowds expected at a papal Mass on Rio's Copacabana beach and other ceremonies during Francis' seven days in Brazil, the world's most populous Roman Catholic nation.
There is a "risk of having a generation that hasn't worked," Francis told around 70 journalists on board his plane. "Young people at this moment are in crisis."
He didn't specify any country or region, but much of Europe is seeing those gloomy youth joblessness numbers, especially in Greece, Spain and Italy. Brazil is in far better shape than European nations, with unemployment at an all-time low after a decade of economic expansion.
Correspondents say that in Brazil and much of Latin America, a region with more faithful than any other in the world the Catholic church is facing challenging times as millions have left the church for rival Pentecostal evangelical ones or secularism.
Playing out alongside the papal visit is political unrest in Brazil, where widespread anti-government protests that began last month have continued and are expected to occur outside Rio's Guanabara Palace, the seat of state power where Francis is to meet with President Rousseff later in the evening.
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