Pope Francis is returning home from his Colombia mission with a black eye and a cut eyebrow after losing balance in his popemobile while greeting well-wishers.
The driver of the popemobile was forced to make a quick stop in front of visiting crowds, leading the Pope to lose his balance. He reportedly only had a hip-high bar to hold on to so was thrust forward and suffered a bruised left eye and a cut above his eyebrow.
The black eye could not stop the 80-year-old and he was quickly bandaged and continued his mission.
The pope spent his final day in Colombia by visiting the city port of Cartagena, where he honored St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit who ministered to the African slaves that arrived to be sold during the Spanish colonial era, USA Today reported. He used the opportunity to rail against modern slavery.
“Here in Colombia and in the world millions of people are still being sold as slaves; they either beg for some expressions of humanity, moments of tenderness, or they flee by sea or land because they have lost everything, primarily their dignity and their rights,” the Catholic Register quoted him as saying.
With an eye on neighboring Venezuela, the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics also called for an end to “every kind of violence in political life,” noting that the recent upheavals had hit “especially the poorest and most disadvantaged in society.”