Pope Francis is due to arrive in Ecuador at the start of a seven-day tour of South America.
Ecuador’s left-wing President Rafael Correa called the visit “an honour”.
Pope Francis will also travel to Bolivia and Paraguay، as part of his second trip to the region since becoming pontiff in 2013.
The Argentine is the first Pope to come from South America. He is expected to highlight the themes of poverty and inequality.
In 2007، before becoming Pope، he told a gathering of Latin American bishops that they were living in the most unequal part of the world.
During his previous trip in 2013، he addressed millions on Brazil’s Copacabana Beach.