Pope Ends Mexico Tour in Violent Ciudad Juarez, Returns to Rome

Pope Francis bid farewell to Mexico after wrapping up his five-day tour and boarded his plane amid a send-off ceremony on Wednesday night to return to Rome.

The pontiff closed his visit in the northern city of Ciudad Juarez, where he visited a 3,000-capacity state prison and delivered a cross-border mass at the U.S.-Mexican border.

#PorSiTeLoPerdiste Momento de la despedida del #PapaEnMEX en el aeropuerto de Ciudad Juárez. pic.twitter.com/BpvUQMxRim

— Ánimo Pueblo (@AnimoPueblo) February 18, 2016

A city infamous for femicides, and once acknowledged as the world’s most dangerous place with more than 8.5 killings per day in 2010, the border town has actually improved its security over the past few years.

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The local government is hoping to use Pope Francis visit to Juarez to persuade investors that the city is once again "open for business." The tourism campaign "Juarez is Waiting for You" was launched as a response.

The visit to the border town right beside El Paso, Texas, also attracted the attention of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accused the Mexican government of putting the pope up to the border trip. The Vatican slammed Trump for his “very strange” anti-immigration ramblings.

Tens of thousands of Catholics, mainly from the U.S., flocked to see the pope in Juarez, which is also famous for being the birthplace of the Margarita cocktail.

#papaenmex pic.twitter.com/5ORu3ViJP7

— Rogelio Vega Ll. (@RogelioVegaLl) February 18, 2016

Undocumented Mexicans in the U.S., who are not able to travel to see the pope, formed a human chain from neighboring El Paso in the U.S. to draw attention to the plight of migrants.

IN DEPTH: Pope Francis and the Americas

Ciudad Juarez recorded lowest the lowest murder rate since 2006 in 2015, with 300 murders reported, after hitting a peak of 3,500 killings in 2010.

During his first visit to Mexico, the Pope has denounced and criticized drug trafficking, violence and corruption, among other delicate issues.

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