78岁的教宗方济各星期天下午抵达南美之行的第一站厄瓜多尔首都基多，厄瓜多尔总统科雷亚和教会要人前往迎接。
从机场到教宗下榻的教廷大使官邸，沿途有很多欢迎的人群。一位朝圣者说， 他很高兴教宗远道而来，看望他们。
教宗星期一将用8种语言主持弥撒。他还要访问一个玻利维亚暴力犯人监狱，跟玻利维亚收垃圾的工人见面，并访问巴拉圭一个易受洪水袭击的贫民区。
教宗在离开罗马的时候说，他要强调这三个国家里穷人的困境，特别是需要救助的儿童、老人、病人，囚犯和穷人等，他们都是用过即丢消费主义文化的受害者。
罗马天主教会有大约12亿信徒，其中很大一部分在拉丁美洲。厄瓜多尔、玻利维亚和巴拉圭是南美洲最穷和最小的国家。
Pope Francis, the first South American pontiff, has returned to that continent to begin an eight-day visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.
The 78-year-old Jesuit pope landed in Ecuador's capital, Quito, Sunday afternoon, on the first leg of his visit, where he was greeted by President Rafael Correa and church dignitaries.
Huge crowds also gathered along the route from the airport to the papal nuncio's residence, where Francis will be staying. "I am happy for the blessing of having a Father who comes from so far away to see his children," said one pilgrim.
The pope is planning to celebrate a Mass in eight languages Monday. Later in the trip, he is planning a visit to a violent Bolivian prison, a meeting with Bolivian trash collectors and a stop at a flood-prone Paraguayan shantytown.
As he left Rome, Francis said he wanted to emphasize the plight of impoverished people in the three countries he is visiting, "especially children in need, the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned, the poor, those who are victims of this throwaway culture."
The Roman Catholic Church has about 1.2 billion followers, with a large portion of them in Latin America. Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are three of South America's poorest and smallest countries.
