Pope Francis dispenses with formalities on first overseas trip

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A crowd estimated at 3 million crowds Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday as Pope Francis celebrated the final Mass of his visit to Brazil. (Tasso Marcelo / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pope Francis waves from the popemobile on his way to the Guanabara Palace after his arrival in Rio de Janeiro. (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)

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Young men wave a Brazilian national flag as they wait for Pope Francis to pass in Rio de Janeiro. (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)

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People wait outside the Metropolitan Cathedral for the arrival of Pope Francis. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

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Pope Francis is by Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro. (Jorge Saenz / Associated Press)

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Pope Francis’ plane arrives at the international airport in Rio de Janeiro. (Jorge Saenz / Associated Press)

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Pope Francis waves from inside the plane at Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci international airport. (Riccardo De Luca / Associated Press)

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Pilgrims with the Argentinian national flag gather by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. (Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pope Francis is driven through the crowd in St. Peter’s Square for his inauguration Mass at the Vatican. The Vatican says the pontiff will not use the bulletproof popemobile during his upcoming trip to Brazil, but that he will use the same open-topped version he uses in St. Peter’s. (Angelo Carconi / Associated Press)

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Pope Francis has opted to reside in Casa Santa Marta, a guest house at the Vatican. At least for now, he has decided not to move into the lavish papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. The display of modesty is in line with his behavior early in his pontificate. (Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pope Francis waves as he arrives on the Italian island of Lampedusa on his first official trip outside Rome. The pope, accompanied by a convoy of fishermen, laid a wreath in the sea in memory of migrants who’ve died trying to cross from North Africa to Europe by sea. (Tullio M. Puglia / Getty Images)

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Pope Francis blesses a child as he arrives on Lampedusa, Italy. Francis celebrated Mass on the pier with a group of immigrants. (Tullio M. Puglia / Getty Images)

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Pope Francis offers blessings at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town outside Rome. Francis isn’t staying at the Castel Gandolfo, but came for a day for an informal front-door encounter with residents. (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)

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Pope Francis kisses a baby at the end of the Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the summer papal residence. Usually when in Castel Gandolfo on Sundays, pontiffs appear at an upper window, but Francis stood at the main entrance, chatting and kissing babies. (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pope Francis waves as he arrives in Castel Gandolfo to deliver the Angelus prayer. (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

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A sand sculpture on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach depicts Pope Francis days before the pontiff is to arrive in the city for World Youth Day, a major Roman Catholic youth festival. (Vanderlei Almeida / AFP/Getty Images)

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Workers build the structure for the podium for Pope Francis at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. More than a million of the faithful are expected to flock to Rio de Janeiro for the pope’s visit from July 22 to 28. It will be the Argentine-born pope’s first trip as pontiff outside Italy. (Vanderlei Almeida / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pope Francis will stay at the Sumare residence in Rio de Janeiro during his trip to Brazil. Pope John Paul II also stayed at the residence during his two trips to the country. Francis plans to preside over private daily Masses at the residence, according to his schedule posted by the World Youth Day website. (Silvia Izquierdo / Associated Press)

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Olga Valles arranges Pope Francis masks as they dry at her family’s mask-making factory ahead of the pontiff’s visit in Sao Goncalo, Brazil, near Rio de Janeiro. The Condal factory is Brazil’s oldest and has made masks portraying countless soccer greats, Shrek, and politicians from around the world. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)

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People carry the World Youth Day cross on their way to a Mass at Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)

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A stage for a papal Mass and youth vigil to be held during Pope Francis’ visit to Brazil is given the finishing touches at “Campus Fidei,” a large lot in Guaratiba, west of Rio de Janeiro. (Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images)

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Workers finish up a stage constructed for a papal Mass and youth vigil in Guaratiba, Brazil. (Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images)

By Tracy Wilkinson

July 22, 2013 8:48 AM PT

MEXICO CITY — Pope Francis embarked Monday on his first overseas trip as pontiff — waiting in line to board his flight and carting his own carry-on luggage.

Journalists accompanying the former Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio of Argentina on his pilgrimage to Brazil were more than a little amused to see the famously humble pontiff dispense with many of the formalities that customarily go with papal voyages.

Shortly before taking off at 8:53 a.m. Rome time, the pope tweeted to his 2.7 million followers (the Twitter ones, not the necessarily Roman Catholic ones):

I am arriving in Brazil in a few hours and my heart is already full of joy because soon I will be with you to celebrate the 28th WYD.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 22, 2013

WYD is World Youth Day, an annual gathering of young Catholics from around the world that is the official purpose of the trip, which is taking the first pope from the Americas back to his homeland.

Expectations are high for many in Brazil and throughout Latin America, who are looking for the church to reengage with the region’s pressing social issues, and welcome Francis’ dedication to the poor.

Once the pope’s Alitalia flight was underway, Pope Francis spoke to reporters, decrying unemployment among youth and society’s disregard for the elderly.

“A people has a future if it goes forward with bridges: with the young people having the strength to bring it forward and the elderly, because they have the wisdom of life,” the pope said, according to journalists onboard the flight.

The pope is scheduled to land in Rio de Janeiro at 4 p.m. local time Monday.

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