Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignations of Bishop Julio Parrilla Diaz, who turned 75 last month, and his deputy, Monsignor Gerardo Miguel Nieves Loja, 53.

Nieves had been named "coadjutor bishop" for Riobamba last year and was due to be consecrated bishop in February, to take over when Parrilla retired at 75, the normal retirement age for bishops. But Nieves offered his resignation to Francis a week before the ceremony.

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Preaching at a Mass on Monday at Guayaquil, the Pope said the point of the synod is "to mature a true spiritual discernment and find concrete solutions to the many difficult and important challenges families must confront in our times".

"I ask you to intensify your prayer for this intention so that what still seems to be impure to us, to scandalise us, or frighten us, God ... can transform it into a miracle," he then exhorted the people.

"Families today need this miracle," he said.

The Pope is on a three nation, week-long visit in South America. He is visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.

At the Mass on Monday, Francis spoke directly to struggles faced by Ecuadorean families.

The Pope connected the Gospel reading of the day - the wedding feast at Cana - with miracles that he said people witness every day.

He called on those present to believe that things can always get better.

"This is the good news," Francis told the crowd. "The best of the wines are yet to be drunk; the nicest, most profound and beautiful things for the family are yet to come."

The best "will come in spite of all the variables and statistics which say the opposite," the Pope continued.

"The best wine is yet to come for those who see everything crumbling down."

"Mumble it until you believe it," he told the crowd.

"The best wine is yet to come, and whisper it to the desperate or unloved. Open your heart for the best of wines that will come."

"God always moves out to the peripheries, to those who have run out of wine, those who drink only of discouragement," Francis said.

"Jesus feels weakness to squander his best wine with those that for one reason or another already feel that their jars have been broken."

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Reuters
• Image: Catholic News Agency

This visit has a special meaning to South Americans because Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is a native of Argentina, and is the first Latin American pope in the history of the Catholic Church.

This will be the first official visit for Francis - a former Jesuit bishop - to Spanish-speaking South America since he was elected to lead the Catholic Church in 2013 after the resignation of Benedict XVI.

As millions of faithful Catholics prepare to welcome Pope Francis next week, here are key facts about his trip:

1 Latin America is home to more than 425 million Catholics - nearly 40% of the world's total Catholic population.

Moreover, in most South American countries, at least seven-in-ten adults identify as Catholic. Indeed, in only one Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking country in South America (Uruguay) do Catholics make up less than half of the adult population (42%).

2 South Americans have widely embraced Pope Francis, the first head of the Catholic Church elected from the New World.

Approximately two-thirds or more of adults in every South American country express a favorable opinion of Francis in a Pew Research Center survey, including 91% in his native Argentina.

Among South American Catholics, views on Francis are even more positive: At least 75% of Catholic respondents throughout the region have a favorable view. Moreover, majorities of Catholics in most South American countries say Francis represents a major force for change in the Catholic Church.

3 In contrast with the warm regard for the pontiff by people who currently say they are Catholic, the sizable number of people in the region who have left the church are cooler toward the pope.

Only in Argentina (73%) and Uruguay (63%) do clear majorities of former Catholics say they have a favorable opinion of the pope.

Elsewhere, no more than about half of former Catholics give the pope a positive rating, with favorable opinion especially low among ex-Catholics in Bolivia (28%) and Venezuela (32%). Continue reading

Sources

• Pew Research Center
• Image: The Guardian