Pope Francis wraps up his Chile visit Thursday by meeting with members of the South American nation s booming immigrant community, who are flocking to the region s strongest and most stable economy but are increasingly the focus of political and social discontent.
After an emotional meeting with Chile s Mapuche Indigenous in the south Wednesday, Francis is going to the northern city of Iquique, which is home to nearly two dozen migrant slums. He plans to celebrate Mass there before heading to Peru for the final leg of his two-nation trip.
Francis has long called for countries to welcome migrants and refugees fleeing war, drought or hardship — a message that often falls on deaf ears in Europe, where the migrant crisis has been a driving factor on politics for years.
