Pope to visit Brazil slum and meet prisoners on first trip

Pope Francis will visit the poor in a favela and meet young prisoners when he travels to Brazil on his first international trip as pontiff in July.

Francis, who has said he wants to make concern for the poor a hallmark of his papacy, will visit the Manguinhos slum in Rio de Janeiro on the fourth day of his Jul 22-29 trip to the world’s largest Catholic country.

Manguinhos is one of Rio’s most visible favelas, wedged between a busy highway and a former oil refinery and near the main airport and large military bases.

The shanty town, which the pope will visit on Jul 25, had a long history of drug-related violence, but a police occupation last year kicked out many drug and gun traffickers.

Manguinhos, home to about 35,000 poor people, is one of the communities that have been part of a community policing operation that has reduced violence in the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro.

The Pope will also meet young prisoners who will be brought to the archbishop’s residence for the occasion.

The main purpose of the trip is for the pope to preside at the Catholic Church’s World Day of Youth, an international gathering sometimes dubbed a “Catholic Woodstock” that takes place in a different city every two years.

The World Day of Youth celebrations start on Jul 23 and end on Jul 28.

Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, arrives on Jul 22 and will rest the next day to overcome jet lag.

On Jul 24, he will fly by helicopter to the city of Aparacida, about 240km south-west of Rio de Janeiro, to visit the national shrine of Our Lady of Aparacida, whom the Church honours at the patroness of Brazil.

The trip is expected to be the only one abroad for the Pope this year.