Pope Francis called on the faithful during Mass Tuesday in a park dedicated to Ecuador's independence to use that same spirit that cried for freedom 200 years ago to help spread the faith, unity, and social justice today.
The crowd, some soaked by early rains before Mass, heard the pope remind them that there was "no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom which arose a little more than 200 years ago".
"(It) was decisive when it left aside personalisms, the aspiration for a single authority, and a lack of understanding for other processes of liberation with different characteristics which were not for this reason antagonistic," Francis added.
His Mass was dedicated to evangelization, according to Vatican Radio, couple with the theme of unity and independence. "I would like to see these two cries joined together, under the beautiful challenge of evangelization," said the 78-year-old pontiff.
"We evangelize not with grand words, or complicated concepts, but with 'the joy of the Gospel'." As he arrived for Mass in the capital city of Ecuador during the third day of his Latin American tour, crowds showered Francis with flower petals as he descended the pope mobile.
Before the Mass in Quito's Bicentennial park, inaugurated in 2013 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of Ecuador's independence, Francis met privately with about 40 of the country's 52 bishops. He also scheduled meetings with representatives of the country's schools and universities, as well as civil society groups, and planned to later visit Quito's pontifical university where he was expected to speak.
Later, Francis was to be be presented with the keys to the capital in the Church of St Francis, the oldest religious building in Latin America. The day's programme was scheduled to end late with a visit to the Church of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits, Francis' order), known locally as Iglesia de la Compania, in Quinto.
The ornate Jesuit church, known as a significant example of Spanish Baroque architecture, is one of the oldest and best-known in Ecuador. The pope's eight-day trip will also take in Bolivia and Paraguay but not Francis's native Argentina. Francis was scheduled to leave Quito on Wednesday and fly to La Paz, Bolivia.
On Monday, the pope travelled from Quito to Guayaquil where as many as one million people joined the Mass in 'Parque de Los Samanes'.
Many youth groups took part, singing songs and leading cheers including 'Long Live Pope Francis' amid seas of flags from Ecuador and Argentina.
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