The Latest: Pope Francis on his way to square in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to celebrate Mass

Pope Francis greets the crowd in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Thursday, July 9, 2015. The pope is heading to his first public event of the day in Bolivia, an open-air Mass in Santa Cruz's Christ the Redeemer square. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (The Associated Press)

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Faithful gather for Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Christ the Redeemer square in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Thursday, July 9, 2015. Pope Francis rallied tens of thousands of flag-waving Bolivians during his first public Mass in Bolivia on Thursday, one of the key days of his South American pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (The Associated Press)

Pope Francis walks with his pastoral staff as he celebrates Mass at Christ the Redeemer square in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Thursday, July 9, 2015. Pope Francis rallied tens of thousands of flag-waving Bolivians during his first public Mass in Bolivia on Thursday, one of the key days of his South American pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (The Associated Press)

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – ___

9:30 a.m.

Pope Francis is out and about on the popemobile heading to his first public event of the day in Bolivia, an open-air Mass in Santa Cruz's Christ the Redeemer square.

Francis' bodyguards jogged alongside his popemobile at a fast clip as the pope waved to the crowds. His motorcade route was lined by flag-waving Bolivians held back by a human chain of police.

After the Mass, Francis' main event of the day is a keynote speech to a summit of grass-roots groups whose advocacy for the poor and marginalized has been championed by history's first Latin American pope.

Overnight, several thousand slept in square to get a spot close to the front.

Francis arrived in the Andean nation late Wednesday after three days in Ecuador.