Pope Francis on Monday visited the Shrine of Divine Mercy in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, where he prayed with the disabled, the elderly and the terminally ill.

He said ``I will pray to Jesus so He may have great mercy on you and to the Virgin so she may be forever by your side.

``I leave you today with a blessing, but I won't be charging you anything for that," Francis joked.

``What I do ask you is to please pray for me. Will you promise me that?’’ the pontiff asked.

The pope prayed alone at the shrine for several minutes and then said a Hail Mary with other people at the site, many of whom he hugged, kissed and blessed.

The shrine, which has a capacity of 11,000, was only open to invited guests.

Originally, the plan was to hold an open-air mass there, but the mass was moved to Los Samanes Park in Guayaquil for logistical and security reasons.

The pope left the shrine in the same Fiat Idea car he has used for many of his travels in Ecuador but then transferred to an open popemobile for the last stretch of the journey.

Francis arrived in Quito from Rome on Sunday and immediately broke protocol by joining a group who had gathered outside the nunciature building to cheer him.

``I am going to bless you so you can go and have a rest and let the neighbours sleep,’’ he said before praying with them.

Report says this is the first time the Argentinian-born Francis visits a Spanish-speaking country as pope.

He had already been in Latin America in 2013, although he travelled only to Portuguese-speaking Brazil. (NAN)

Photo shows: Pope Francis

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