Pope Francis has flown into Chile's capital for a visit expected to be met with protests over sexual abuse by priests and confronted by many Chileans deeply sceptical about the Roman Catholic Church.
It's the pope's first visit to the Andean nation of 17 million people since taking the reins of the church in 2013. It comes at a time when many Chileans are furious over Francis' 2015 decision to appoint a bishop close to the Rev Fernando Karadima, who the Vatican found guilty in 2011 of abusing dozens of minors over decades.
After getting off the plane, Francis was greeted by President Michelle Bachelet, and a band played while the two walked on a red carpet as night began to fall.
Over the next three days, Francis is scheduled to celebrate Mass in Santiago, the southern city of Temuco and the northern city of Iquique. On Thursday, the pope will go to Peru for a three-day visit.
Francis' trip is aimed at highlighting the plight of immigrants and indigenous peoples and underscoring the need to preserve the Amazon rain forest. However, sexual abuse by priests has taken front and centre in the weeks before his arrival.
Hours before Francis landed, activists on issues related to sex abuse by priests called for sanctions against both abusers and anyone who helped cover up their actions.
About 200 people attended the first of several activities aimed at making the sex abuse scandal a central topic of Francis' time in the country.
The pope will try to inject new energy into the church during his visit, which gets underway in earnest Tuesday with a series of protocol visits for church and state.
