18:18
Tieng Anh Vui
Pope Francis is due to visit a poor neighbourhood of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
The Pope will address residents of the community of Varginha in the latest stop of his visit to Brazil, the first foreign trip of his papacy.
On Wednesday, he visited a Rio clinic for drug addicts, where he criticised drug legalisation plans.
On the fourth day of his visit to Brazil, he will also greet the faithful at the World Youth Day in Copacabana.
'Forgotten community'
Varginha is part of the larger Manguinhos favela, one of the many hillside shanty towns which surround Rio.
Once a byword for poverty, crime and drugs, the Brazilian government has made the "pacification" of these communities one of its priorities.
Heavily armed police have moved into some of the more lawless favelas, including Varginha, to "flush out" the criminals and drug dealers who controlled large swathes of these communities.
According to official estimates, more than 20% of the population of the city live in favelas.
The Pope, who has called for a "Church of the poor" and who during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires regularly visited some of the poorest areas of that city, specifically asked for a favela to be included in his schedule.
He is expected to meet a family and bless a small local church before addressing residents gathered at a football field.
Locals say the government's policy of sending large numbers of police to the area has gone some way towards calming the area, but not enough.
"There is no state presence; our community was forgotten for a long time. I hope with the Pope's visit we can have some improvement," carpenter Paulo Lima told NBC news.
'Passing idols'
The visit comes just a day after Pope Francis said it was key to tackle the roots of drug abuse rather than consider legalising them.
At a Mass at the shrine of Aparecida, he also warned tens of thousands of faithful against the "passing idols" of money, power and pleasure.
"How many dealers of death there are that follow the logic of power and money at any cost," he told the congregation.
"The scourge of drug-trafficking, that favours violence and sows the seeds of suffering and death, requires of society as a whole an act of courage."
Leaders in Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and others have spoken for softer stances on drugs policy. In Uruguay, a project decriminalising marijuana sale is set to be voted in Congress next week.
The highlight of the Pope's trip to Brazil is expected to be a prayer service on Rio's Copacabana Beach later on Thursday, which is likely to draw hundreds of thousands.
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