People line the street to watch Pope Francis pass by in his popemobile after his arrival in Bogota, Colombia. Photo / AP
People line the street to watch Pope Francis pass by in his popemobile after his arrival in Bogota, Colombia. Photo / AP
Pope Francis has received a spirited and symbolic welcome in Colombia, saying he wants to bring a message of hope for Colombians as they work to heal the wounds and divisions left by Latin America's longest-running armed conflict.
Francis' white popemobile was almost mobbed by jubilant crowds as it madeits way along the 15km road into Bogota from the airport.
Francis, who relishes diving into crowds, was unfazed by the flower-tossing masses and even managed a few high-fives with young people who were a little too close.
The first pope from Latin America looked thrilled to be back in Colombia, the first country he visited after he was ordained a priest and where he exerted a good deal of effort encouraging peace negotiations that spanned his papacy.
One of the gifts he received on the tarmac had particular symbolic significance: a sculpted peace dove offered to him by the young son of a rebel father and politician mother who was taken captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, in 2002.
The boy was taken from his mother, Clara Rojas, now a congresswoman, and didn't see her again until he was 3.
In his only public remarks on his first day in Colombia, Francis begged young Colombians who gathered outside the Vatican embassy to serenade him: "Don't ever lose happiness and hope".
Hope is a major theme for the visit, as Francis seeks to encourage Colombians to reconcile with one another after five decades of armed rebellion.
During his visit, Francis is expected to call on Colombian leaders to address the social and economic disparities that fuelled the long civil conflict.
He will also seek to encourage ordinary Colombians to balance their need for justice with forgiveness.
Pope Francis speaks during his welcoming ceremony at the Nunciature in Bogota, Colombia. Photo / AP
In a video message on the eve of his departure, Francis urged all Colombians to take a "first step" and reach out to one another for the sake of peace and the future.
"Peace is what Colombia has been looking for and working for for such a long time," he said.
"A stable and lasting peace, so that we can see one another and treat one another as brothers, not as enemies."
