In his homily for the first Mass of the trip, he emphasized the importance of the Beatitudes, especially "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
The Pope said that an important moment of the trip for him was his visit to the women's prison in Santiago. "The faces of those women, many of them young mothers, with their little ones in their arms, expressed hope" in spite of everything, he said.
His meetings with consecrated men and women and with bishops were also "very intense," he stated. During his visit with the bishops, he urged them to reject any compromise when it comes to the sexual abuse of minors, and to trust in God, "who through this hard proof purifies and renews his ministers."
Two other Masses were also celebrated in Chile: one in the north in Iquique, and the other in the south, in the Araucania region, where the Mapuche Indians live.
He also met with young people and with students and faculty of the Catholic University of Chile, encouraging them to ask themselves, in the words of the Chilean saint, Alberto Hurtado: "What would Christ do in my place?"
In Peru, the motto of Francis' visit was "United by hope." There, he said that his meeting with indigenous communities of the Amazon in Peru was "emblematic" of the unity that can be found not in uniformity, but in all the richness of the differences inherited from history and culture.
Speaking to political and civil authorities, he strongly denounced ecological-social degradation and corruption, which he said on Wednesday, "ruin hearts."
"And I remarked that no one is exempt from responsibility in the face of these two wounds and that the commitment to counter them concerns everyone," he continued.
In Trujillo, Peru, the Pope held Mass, met with priests and consecrated, and participated in a Marian celebration, in which he crowned the Immaculate Virgin of the Gate of Otuzco, a popular Marian devotion in Peru, the "Mother of Mercy and Hope."
The final day of the trip took place in Lima, "with a strong spiritual and ecclesial accent," he said. In Lima he met with around 500 contemplative women religious, who he said are "a true 'lung' of faith and prayer for the Church and for the whole society."
He also prayed before the relics of five Peruvian saints in the Cathedral of Lima and again met with bishops of the country.
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"As always, the word of Jesus gives full meaning to everything," he said. "And so too the Gospel of the last Eucharistic celebration summarized God's message to his people in Chile and Peru: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel' (Mk 1:15)."
"Thus – the Lord seemed to say – you will receive the peace that I give you and you will be united in my hope," he concluded.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.