Pope Francis was greeted by Bolivian President Evo Morales when he arrived Wednesday on the second leg of his three-nation tour of his home continent of South America.
The pontiff told a crowd of thousands who gathered at the airport in the capital of La Paz that Bolivia "is making important steps towards including broad sectors in the country's economic, social and political life."
Mr. Morales said the visit of the Argentinean-born pope represents support for the "liberation" of the Bolivian people. Relations between Bolivia's Catholic Church and the Bolivian government became strained after Mr. Morales, the country's first indigenous leader, first took office in 2006, but have improved since Francis's election in 2013.
The pope later traveled into La Paz for talks with Mr. Morales and other political and civic leaders. During the trip, Francis stopped his motorcade at the spot where the body of Jesuit priest Luis Espinal was found in 1980 after he was arrested and tortured by Bolivian paramilitary squads.