>The pope came to this region to shore up a deeply divided church
>that is losing multitudes of followers to Protestant denominations,
>secularism and apathy. The trip also was seen as a test for a pope
>often considered Eurocentric and aloof to the more populous bases of
>his far-flung church.
>
>On that score, he did not appear to have made much headway. Only
>about 150,000 people came to this rural town between Sao Paulo and
>Rio de Janeiro for Benedict's final Mass. The open-air celebration
>took place at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, a shrine to a
>black Virgin Mary who is Brazil's patron saint.
>As with Sunday's Mass, attendance and fervor at most of Benedict's
>appearances here were muted for a papal visit to a predominantly
>Catholic country. By way of contrast, the annual "March for Jesus"
>by evangelicals in Sao Paulo attracts at least 1.5 million people.