Altar set with beautiful flower decoration for Pope Francis in Ecatepec, Mexico. (NCR photo/McElwee)
If your coming to NCR today looking for the latest news from Pope Francis pastoral visit to Mexico, I thought you might like to see his itinerary, as reported by Catholic News Service. The times listed are local times, which are Central Standard Times.
The public Mass today is being celebrated in Ecatepec, a diocese just outside Mexico City; the indigenous name "Ecatepec" means "windy hill" and overnight temperatures are frigid. I asked NCR Vatican correspondent Joshua McElwee about the temperature, and he told me that the temperature when he arrived at the Mass venue about 7:00 a.m. was in the lower 40s (fahrenheit) and gradually warming. Overnight temperatures were much lower, but that didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds, which McElwee described as "Some of the largest, most emotional crowds I've ever seen for Pope Francis."
Follow NCR's trip coverage on Twitter at @ncronline and @joshmac and @dcoday. Come back here in the afternoon for extensive reports. All our reporting is available here Francis in Mexico.
Sunday, Feb. 14 (Mexico City to Ecatepec to Mexico City)
-- 10:15 a.m. Transfer by helicopter to Ecatepec.
-- 11:30 a.m. Mass in the area of the "study center" of Ecatepec. Homily by pope. Pope recites Angelus.
-- 2 p.m. Lunch with the papal entourage in the Ecatepec diocesan seminary.
-- 4:45 p.m. Transfer by helicopter to Mexico City.
-- 5:15 p.m. Arrival in Mexico City.
-- 5:45 p.m. Visit to the Federico Gomez Children's Hospital of Mexico. Greeting by pope.