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Argentina blends devotion and marketing with pope

Published: March 17, 2013 Comment on this article

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — From slum chapels to Buenos Aires' imposing cathedral, Argentines celebrated their pope in Sunday Masses.

While the faithful prayed, vendors sold papal memorabilia and workers installed huge screens in the capital's central Plaza de Mayo in preparation for an all-night vigil ahead of Francis' formal installation ceremony, which will begin before dawn Tuesday Argentina time.

photo - Blanca Franco cries as she attends Mass in the Villa 21-24 slum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, March 17, 2013. Villa 21-24 is a slum so dangerous that most outsiders don't dare enter, but residents say Jorge Mario Bergoglio often showed up unannounced to share laughs and sips of mate, the traditional Argentine herbal tea shared by groups using a common straw. Bergoglio was chosen as leader of the Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, and chose the name Francis. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Blanca Franco cries as she attends Mass in the Villa 21-24 slum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, March 17, 2013. Villa 21-24 is a slum so dangerous that most outsiders don't dare enter, but residents say Jorge Mario Bergoglio often showed up unannounced to share laughs and sips of mate, the traditional Argentine herbal tea shared by groups using a common straw. Bergoglio was chosen as leader of the Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, and chose the name Francis. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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Mass in the slums began earlier and seemed more intimate. At the Villa 21-24, one of the capital city's most dangerous slums, many recalled how as an archbishop, Jorge Mario Bergoglio blessed their tiny Caacupe Virgin of the Miracles chapel.

Not everyone could fit inside its yellow walls with painted saints and many stood outside. Blanca Franco, a 58-year-old housewife, listened and shed some tears.

"I have feelings in my heart that only God knows," Franco said. "I'm happy about the appointment of our archbishop."

Nearby, Marcos Manuel Solar, a 28-year-old former drug addict, smiled widely as he told passers-by that he had received the rite of confirmation from the pope himself. Solar, who works at a soup kitchen, said he kicked the habit through a rehab program funded by the church.

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