Pope Francis returns to Rome after triumphant visit to Brazil

There were violent protests that evening outside the palace of the governor of Rio state, with riot police using tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades to try to disperse a crowd of demonstrators, some of whom expressed anger over the ?35 million cost of the papal visit.

One of the cities that bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics but lost out to Rio was Chicago.

The day after the unrest, a headline in the Chicago Tribune asked "We lost to this?" above pictures of petrol bombs exploding in the streets of Rio.

There were also problems with Rio's creaking transport system ? on Tuesday part of the city's metro broke down due to an electrical fault, stranding thousands of pilgrims trying to reach Copacabana beach for a Mass to kick off World Youth Day, the Catholic festival that was the focus of the Pope's visit.

The metro had to be evacuated, leaving pilgrims scrambling to find buses or taxis to take them to the beach.

The Brazilian authorities had to deal with a further headache caused by unusually heavy winter rainfall, which transformed a site outside the city, meant to have been used for Saturday's prayer vigil and Sunday's Mass, into a quagmire.

At the last minute they switched venues, transferring both events to the much drier, and more spectacular, Copacabana beach.

The Brazilian press are asking hard questions about how much was spent on building a giant altar and other facilities at the Campus Fidei (Field of Faith) site at Guaratiba.

Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, admitted that the city had "scored closer to zero than ten" over the organisation of the Pope's visit.

Around a million Brazilians took to the streets in June to protest rising living costs and the expense of hosting the World Cup and Summer Olympics, and unless the government can convince them that both are good investments, there could be more trouble.

Brazilian authorities claim they have gained valuable experience from hosting the Pope's visit.

"We have had two big events in a row (the Pope's visit and the Confederations Cup last month) and we have learned from both," said Jose Monteiro, an official in Rio in charge of security at large events.

Planners were "doing their homework" as they look ahead to the World Cup and Olympics, he said.

But the Catholic youth who descended on Rio from around the world were almost unfailingly good-natured and well-behaved.

Although the week was packed with evening events on Copacabana, and despite Rio's reputation for all-night partying and hedonism, there was very little drunkenness and few public order incidents.

Dealing with football fans fuelled by alcohol and national pride could prove another matter.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/564430/s/2f490c13/sc/2/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Creligion0Cthe0Epope0C10A20A80A980CPope0EFrancis0Ereturns0Eto0ERome0Eafter0Etriumphant0Evisit0Eto0EBrazil0Bhtml/story01.htm

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