– By BRADLEY BROOKS and NICOLE WINFIELD

The Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO – Frenzied crowds of Roman Catholics mobbed the car carrying Pope Francis on Monday when he returned to his home continent for the first time as pontiff, embarking on a seven-day visit meant to fan the fervor of the faithful around the globe.

During his first minutes in Brazil, ecstatic believers swarmed around the closed Fiat several times when it was forced to stop by heavy traffic on the drive from the airport to an official ceremony in Rio’s center.

A few security guards struggled mightily to push back the crowd in scenes that at times looked alarming. A city official told Globo TV that the pope’s driver turned into the wrong part of a boulevard and missed lanes that had been cleared.

Francis looked calm during the frenzy. He rolled down the window on the back passenger-side of the car where he was sitting, waving to the crowd and touching those who reached inside. At one point, a woman handed the pontiff a dark-haired baby, whom he kissed before handing it back.

After finally making it past crowds and blocked traffic, Francis switched to an open-air popemobile as he toured around the main streets in downtown Rio through mobs of people who screamed wildly as he waved and smiled. Many in the crowd looked stunned, with some standing still and others sobbing loudly.

Idaclea Rangel, a 73-year-old Catholic, was pressed up against a wall and choking out words through her tears. “I can’t travel to Rome, but he came here to make my country better … and to deepen our faith,” she said.

Anti-government protesters clashed with police outside a welcoming ceremony for Francis, but the anger was directed at Brazilian leaders and not the pontiff.

At the airport earlier, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vigorously shook Francis’ hand after he descended the stairs following a no-frills charter flight that arrived in late afternoon. The pope was handed two bouquets of white and yellow flowers by two adolescent girls, each of whom he kissed on the cheek.

Reaching the end of the red carpet full of church leaders and other dignitaries, Francis and the Brazilian president paused to be serenaded by a choir of about three dozen young people singing an anthem linked to World Youth Day, an event uniting hundreds of thousands of young faithful from around the globe. Before singing, the kids robustly yelled soccer-like chants in the pope’s honor.

During the official welcoming ceremony later, Francis said he had come “to meet young people from all over the world” attracted by the messages of Jesus. “They want to find a refuge in his embrace, right near his heart to hear his call clearly and powerfully: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.”‘

Outside the Guanabara government palace where the ceremony was held, Alicia Velazquez, a 55-year-old arts teacher from Buenos Aires, waited to catch a glimpse of the man she knew well when he was archbishop of her hometown.

“It was so amazing when he was selected, we just couldn’t believe it, we cried and hugged one another,” Velazquez said. “I personally want to see if he’s still the same man as simple and humble whom we all knew. I have faith that he’s remained the same.”