VATICAN CITY– Amidst the veritable decline of the Catholic Church in Latin America, Pope Francis has landed in Quito, Ecuador to bolster the four-century-long hold that the Church has had in the continent.

  This is the second trip that the pope has made to his native continent, after visiting Rio in 2013. After landing in Quito, the Pope reportedly thanked God “for having allowed me to return to Latin America."

  The Pope’s aims in visiting Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay on his eight-day Latin American trip are twofold. Firstly, the Vatican states that the pope has chosen some of the smaller and poorer countries in the region, skipping his native Argentina, in a move to reinforce his interests in the “peripheries.” Secondly, the recent fall in Catholicism within the region, is one that many hope the first Latin American pope can address.

  Upon landing in Quito, and being welcomed by the President Rafael Correa, he spoke of the fact that “progress and development must ensure a better future for all.”

  Meanwhile, a large problem for the Church is the battle against secularism or other types of Christianity within the continent. The continent holds almost 40 percent of the world’s Catholics, but recently several challenges against the Church have been made. As a result, a dwindling number of priests can be noted within the Latin American region.

  In the 1970s, 90 percent of Latin Americans were Catholic. But that number has fallen, whilst Protest churches have become more and more popular. Now only 69 percent of adults identify themselves as Catholic, according to statistics presented by the Pew Center. For many, the Church seemed out of reach for Latin Americans, however with the first Latin American pope, this might change.

  The choice of these three countries might also reflect on the fact that the Church looses a lot of the indigenous population, Bolivia specifically having a very large indigenous population. During the trip, the pope will meet with groups of various different ethnicities, from indigenous peoples, to descendants of European immigrants.

  On Wednesday the pope will travel to Bolivia, where he has reportedly requested to chew coca leaves, according to Culture Minister Marko Machicao.