Pope Francis is celebrating Mass Saturday in Paraguay’s most important pilgrimage site, before a congregation that is expected to swell to a half-million Paraguayan faithful as well as thousands of Argentines who crossed the border to welcome their countryman to his home continent.

Blue-and-white Argentine flags and soccer jerseys were easily visible in the massive crowd that packed the main square at the town of Caacupe, about 50 kilometers from Asuncion, the capital.

A church at Caacupe holds a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be linked to many miracles.

Years ago, when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, the pope shared religious celebrations there on a number of occasions with Paraguayan immigrants devoted to Our Lady of Miracles of Caacupe.

Walks to see pope

“Francis loved Paraguayans and we do, too,” Carmen Mesa told a reporter for The Associated Press.

The 56-year-old woman was one of a group of Argentines who walked to Caacupe from their homes in Clorinda for the pope’s Mass. “Argentina is his homeland. He is not coming home yet, so we brought it to him.”

Francis omitted Argentina from this trip to South America to avoid becoming involved in the country’s upcoming presidential election.

After Saturday’s Mass at Caacupe, media reports said the pope would meet with a Paraguayan gay-rights activist.

In deeply Catholic Paraguay, many young gays and lesbians face mistreatment and scorn, even from their own families.

On Sunday, the 78-year-old pope will visit a poor neighborhood of Asuncion, before celebrating Mass before a crowd of up to 1 million people. That event will bring to a close the pontiff’s eight-day tour of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.
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