Pope Francis heads to Bolivia

The Argentine pope met Bolivia's leftist president Evo Morales in La Paz, on what is the second leg of his South American tour which will also take him to Paraguay.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa saw the pontiff off at a Quito airport on Wednesday. The Pope spent four days in Ecuador where he celebrated two huge outdoor masses and pleaded for dialogue and peace in a country rocked by political unrest and anti-government demonstrations.

Upon arriving in Bolivia, Francis praised the government of Morales, which has nationalized key industries such as oil and gas to finance social initiatives that have slashed poverty in the country.

But Francis spent little time in La Paz due to the city's high altitude. The 78-year-old pope had part of his one lung removed when he was young and the 3,600-meter altitude in La Paz could affect his health.

He moves on to the city of Santa Cruz for the rest of his two-day stay, before heading to Paraguay, which is his last stop on the continent. Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are predominantly Catholic countries, however Bolivian president Morales has long criticized the church as a relic of Latin America's colonial past.

shs/jr (Reuters, dpa)