Pope Francis ventured Friday into a violent, overcrowded and gang-ridden Bolivian prison that even houses small children living with their parents, and urged inmates not to despair.

If other events on the pope's three-nation tour of South America were joyous ones -- million-strong crowds of worshipers singing and praising the pontiff -- the trip to Bolivia's most dangerous prison was arguably a humbling descent into hell.

Pope Francis demanded an immediate end Thursday to what he called "a genocide" of Christians taking place in the Middle East and beyond, describing it as a third world war.

The pope, who has never been afraid to weigh into delicate issues both religious and political, made the comments in Bolivia, the second stop on a three-nation tour to his home continent of South America.

More than a million faithful -- some of whom traveled for hours and spent the night outdoors -- gathered Monday for the first open-air mass of Pope Francis's three-nation trip to South America.

Keeping vigil in tents, sleeping bags and on cardboard, tens of thousands hoping to catch a glimpse of the pontiff spent the night in the rough ahead of the service in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city.

Bolivia sacked 702 members of the military Thursday in a quick, firm response to a march by non-commissioned officers protesting alleged discrimination against indigenous members.

The commander of the armed forces, General Victor Baldivieso, likened the protest to sedition aimed at staging a coup.