Crowds line the streets to welcome Pope Francis to Madagascar

Record ID: 1430324

  • Title: Crowds line the streets to welcome Pope Francis to Madagascar
  • Date: 6th September 2019
  • Summary: ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR (SEPTEMBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POPE FRANCIS WAVING FROM POPEMOBILE, TO CROWDS LINING THE STREETS VARIOUS OF SECURITY FORCES POPE WAVING TO CROWDS FROM POPEMOBILE CHILDREN WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (French) LOCAL RESIDENT, ANDRIAMAMPIANINA HAJA, SAYING: "I think that as a religious leader he has a message to share with the Madagascar population, so we are waiting to hear what he will say. It is not a small thing, it is a big deal for the entire nation of Madagascar." (SOUNDBITE) (Malagasy) LOCAL RESIDENT, RAMIALIARISOA MÉLINE, SAYING: "I am very happy, I've never been so happy. It is like I'm seeing God when I see him (Pope Francis) and for me it is a miracle." CROWDS CHEERING AS POPE DRIVES PAST IN POPEMOBILE CROWDS FILMING AND TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS VARIOUS OF POPE DRIVING PAST CHEERING CROWDS
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2019 16:45
  • Keywords: Pope arrival Madagascar Antananarivo Pope trip to Africa Pope Francis
  • Location: ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR
  • City: ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR
  • Country: Madagascar
  • Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AVITRUV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of people lined the streets in Antananarivo, Madagascar on Friday (September 6) to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis.
    The second leg of his six-day trip in Africa, started with military honours and a welcome by the country's president Andry Rajoelina and his wife Mialy.
    Environment is expected to be high on the pope's agenda as he visits the continent where Catholicism is growing fast.
    In Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island, about 44% of forests have disappeared over the past 60 years, according to the French agricultural research centre CIRAD. The environmental danger there is aggravated because 80% of its plant and animal species are not found anywhere else.
    Poverty, war and corruption will also loom large during the trip.
    The WFP says more than 90% of Madagascar's population of 26 million live on less than $2.00 a day and chronic child malnutrition is widespread.
    (Production: Media Coulibaly, Christophe Van Der Perre)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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