Asunción, July 11 (RHC-PL), -- Pope Francis on Saturday began the second day of his visit to Paraguay with a tour of the Acosta Ñu Children's Hospital in San Lorenzo, in Central department, which is at few minutes drive from Asunción.

The Pope will later continue his trip to Caacupe, the capital of the Cordillera department, where he will say a mass that is expected to be attended by a large crowd as that town is the center of the Christian faith and is considered Paraguay's spiritual capital.

Authorities doubt the capacity of the national sanctuary's open area to accommodate hundreds of thousands of believers who are expected to attend the mass, either Paraguayan or foreign visitors, chiefly from Argentina.