Do you want prayers with that? Pope Francis gets changed in BURGER KING before saying Mass for hundreds of thousands in Bolivia

  • Pope Francis used the fast food restaurant to change into his vestments before saying Mass in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
  • The Pontiff had spent the previous 30 minutes inching through the square in his Popemobile waving to worshipers 
  • Bolivian President Evo Morales gave Pope Francis a large sombrero before he said Mass for thousands of people
  • The Pope spoke about the dangers faced by Christians in the Middle East and called for an end to the genocide  

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 20:57 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 02:33 EST, 10 July 2015

Pope Francis used a Burger King restaurant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to change his clothes before saying Mass for hundreds of thousands of people. 

The Pontiff, who is renowned for being unpretentious, needed somewhere to quickly change into his vestments before the service at the Christ the Redeemer square in the city. 

Having spent some 30 minutes greeting the thousands of people who lined the streets, Francis ducked into the fast food takeaway to prepare for the service. 

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Pope Francis used a Burger King restaurant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, pictured, to change into his vestments before saying Mass 

Pope Francis used a Burger King restaurant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, pictured, to change into his vestments before saying Mass 

The Pontiff, left, had earlier received a large sombrero from the Bolivian president Evo Morales, right, before the open air service

The Pontiff, left, had earlier received a large sombrero from the Bolivian president Evo Morales, right, before the open air service

Pope Francis, left, spoke briefly with the left-wing Bolivian President, right, who had an image of revolutionary Che Guevara on his jacket 

Pope Francis, left, spoke briefly with the left-wing Bolivian President, right, who had an image of revolutionary Che Guevara on his jacket 

Alfredo Troche, manager of the Burger King, said the papal entourage approached the restaurant and 'asked for help because this was an appropriate place and we had closed' to customers.

Minutes later, during his homily, Francis blasted consumerism. He said that by materialistic logic, everything becomes an object that can be consumed and negotiated.

The company wasted no time in letting the world know of the papal visit. Even before Mass had ended, the restaurant put a post on Facebook thanking the pope 'for choosing the BK restaurant as your sacristy.'

It also included an advertisement-like image showing the pope beneath a Burger King logo and the words: 'There are visits that don't just bring joy to your spirit, but also feed it.'

Pope Francis used his homily to call for an end to the 'genocide' of Christians in the Middle East and beyond.

He told worshipers: 'Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus," he said in Bolivia, part of a three-nation tour to his native South America.

'In this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.'

He also criticised the 'intolerable' economic order. He said: 'Do we realise that something is wrong in a world where there are so many farm workers without land, so many families without a home, so many laborers without rights, so many persons whose dignity is not respected?

Thousands of people crammed the streets of Santa Cruz, pictured, to welcome the Pope, centre, to the south American country 

Thousands of people crammed the streets of Santa Cruz, pictured, to welcome the Pope, centre, to the south American country 

Bolivian and Papal flags, left, flew above the square of Christ the Redeemer in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, which was packed with worshipers 

Bolivian and Papal flags, left, flew above the square of Christ the Redeemer in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, which was packed with worshipers 

Pope Francis toured Christ the Redeemer Square in Santa Cruz in his Popemobile for 30 minutes before he got ready to say Mass

Pope Francis toured Christ the Redeemer Square in Santa Cruz in his Popemobile for 30 minutes before he got ready to say Mass

'Do we realise that system has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature?

'If such is the case, I would insist, let us not be afraid to say it: we want change, real change, structural change. This system is by now intolerable.'

He also spoke out about the need to protect the environment. 

He said: 'Time, my brothers and sisters, seems to be running out; we are not yet tearing one another apart, but we are tearing apart our common home. Today, the scientific community realises what the poor have long told us: harm, perhaps irreversible harm, is being done to the ecosystem. The earth, entire peoples and individual persons are being brutally punished. 

'Once capital becomes an idol and guides people's decisions, once greed for money presides over the entire socioeconomic system, it ruins society, it condemns and enslaves men and women, it destroys human fraternity, it sets people against one another and, as we clearly see, it even puts at risk our common home.' 

Pope Francis also apologised for the church's action during the conquest of South America. He said: 'I say this to you with regret: many grave sins were committed against the native peoples of America in the name of God ... I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the Church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America. There was sin and an abundant amount of it.'

Pope Francis also warned against the impact 'austerity' has on the poorest in society. 

He said: 'The new colonialism takes on different faces. At times it appears as the anonymous influence of mammon: corporations, loan agencies, certain "free trade" treaties, and the imposition of measures of "austerity" which always tighten the belt of workers and the poor.'

Pope Francis used his Mass to warn against the dangers of consumerism as well as the problems of imposing austerity on the poor 

Pope Francis used his Mass to warn against the dangers of consumerism as well as the problems of imposing austerity on the poor 

Pope Francis used his homily to apologise for the Church's conduct to the indigenous people of South America during the conquest

Pope Francis used his homily to apologise for the Church's conduct to the indigenous people of South America during the conquest

 

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