Brazilian authoritites detonated a homemade bomb found in one of the bathrooms of the Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Aparecida, a shrine Pope Francis is scheduled to visit on Wednesday on his first trip overseas, police said according to Clarín. The explosive was destroyed "without any further risk," CNN reported.
On Monday, police stated that a Brazilian air force detail had discovered an explosive device in a bathroom at the Aparecida Shrine, in the city of Aparacida, a security source said to NBC News. The homemade bomb was found on Sunday during a routine security sweep and was detonated a day later, authorities said. According to CNN, the device was made from a small plastic cylinder wrapped in duct tape.
NY Daily News reported that Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said that it was an "artisanal bomb" that consisted of "explosives placed in a plastic bag." He also pointed out that the explosive device was not directly connected with the Pope's visit to Brazil."[The find is] not a problem of particular proportion," Lombardi said.
According to Clarín, there was another incident regarding the safety of the Pope in Brazil. On Monday, the driver of the grey Fiat in which Francis traveled from the airport to the city made a wrong turn in the Avenida Presidente Vargas. Instead of taking the left lanes, the driver turned into the right lanes, which were packed with buses and taxis, Huffington Post reported.
The car was forced to stop, allowing thousands of pilgrims that were on the street to rush to the car to see the pontiff and take photos of him.
The Vatican spokesman said that Pope Francis was never concerned for his safety. "His secretary was afraid, but the pope was happy, with his hand out the window waving. There are no concerns for security. The concerns are that the enthusiasm is so great that it's difficult to respond to so much enthusiasm for the pope. But there is no fear and no concern," Lombardi said.
According to the site, there was a "clear lack of security as Francis rode in his open-air vehicle," but Lombardi said that they were just "errors" that need correcting. "This is something new, maybe also a lesson for the coming days," the Vatican spokesman said.
On Tuesday morning, the Pope sent a message of gratitude through Twitter. "Thank you to all of you and to all the authorities for a magnificent welcome in Rio. #Rio2013 #JMJ," he wrote.
On his second day in Brazil, Francis will rest in the old archbishop's residence.
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