Good Morning El Paso 02.18.16

“”i think everybody’s heart full of joy and love and hope.” pope francis wrapped up a five- day visit to mexico with a message of love and compassion. we continue our complete coverage. including reaction from those on this side of the border who gathered at the sun bowl to hear the pontiff’s message .. plus–tight security on both sides of the border to keep the pope safe. what the city is saying to residents this morning. sot full “”it was ju something really, really beautiful.” pope francis is now heading back to the vatican this morning — after speaking to hundreds of thousands of people around the borderland. the pontiff walked up a ramp just across the border in juarez yesterday and waved to a group of un- docummented immigrants on our side of the border … praying in silence for immigrants fleeing violence and persecution. and thousands gathered at the sun bowl to take in the pontiff’s words at the historic mass. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. a westerly flow pattern will maintain dry and warm conditions over the region with breezy southwest winds expected this afternoon. near record high temperatures will be possible through the weekend before a cold front lowers temperatures back closer to seasonal averages on monday. there will be a slight chance of rain for areas east of el paso on monday. dry conditions will return for the remainder of next week with above normal temperatures expected to continue. taking a live look outside right now from our abc-7 downtown camera on top of the chase building ..we are taking a look to our south at the “x” nea the fairgrounds in juarez. less than 24 hours ago hundreds of thousands of people were making their way to this area to catch of glimpse of pope francis. the leader of the world’s 1-point-2 billion catholics arrived in our sister city with a frenzied welcoming ceremony at the airport in juarez … “nats pope walking in ” mexico’s president … the governor of chihuahua … and the mayors of el paso and juarez were among those who welcomed the pope to the borderland. the celebration at the juarez international airport included more than 25- hundred altar boys … four symphony orchestras … and several choirs. abc-7’s josie ortegon was able to speak with several el pasoans at the ceremony: mos 1: “i’m extremely happy because i know he’s helped people, so i’m excited to see him and wave to me.” mos 2: “we ca here at 4:30 in the morning and how do you feel? elated. he gave a blessing yo my daughter. we were very fortunate and moving experience. once on a lifetime.” 5-year-old ivan andres avila — an el pasoan who suffers from brittle bone disease — was among the children who greeted pope francis. “natural sound: women screaming women and children — screaming at the top of their lungs! after the celebration at the airport, pope francis began his journey through the streets of juarez. he was heavily guarded and surrounded by mexican law enforcement officials. the city of juarez closed several major avenues, including the pan american highway from the juarez airport to the old juarez fairgrounds. in addition to the closures, there was a secured perimeter along the pope’s route of five city blocks. / pope francis’ first stop is considered one of the most dangerous places in juarez — the cereso state prison. nearly 800 prison inmates — including 100 women — welcomed him with cheers and appluse. a female inmate delivered a poignant speech saying they are the forgotten and marginalized. a group of inmates even performed a song for the pope. the pontiff gave them his blessing inside the prison’s chapel. afterward he spoke to them and urged them to use their experience in prison for good and to help end the cycle of violence that has torn mexico apart in recent years. heavy security visible on both sides of the border throughout the day. abc-7’s andrew j. polk was in south el paso since before dawn, and shows us what was could be seen near the segundo barrio, an area that was closed off most of the day. we’re here right on loop 375, where right across the border you can see the stage and the celebration going on. and the people have been very excited all day for all the pope’s stops so far throughout juarez. but here on the u-s side of the border, it’s a very different situation with a very heavy law enforcement presence. what we’ve seen are helicopters from all pope leaves nearby juarez streets after the mass. new this morning — the city of el paso says the pope’s historic visit to the el paso-jurez border was an epic success. police department chief greg allen said, quote: “we want to thank the el paso community for their patience and cooperation with the travel restrictions and road closures that we put in place in the interest of public safety. the assistance we received from the public and from our public safety partners allowed the safety measures to be a monumental success,” …end quote. also new this morning.. we are getting reaction to the pope’s visit to juarez from people around the borderland … abc-7’s luke lyddon is live with more. luke? hillary stephanie yesterday was truly a once in a lifetime experience. pope francis making a trip to juarez and also addressing those right here in el paso. thousands gathered at the sun bowl for the 2 nations one faith event for the pal mass– as well thousands lining the streets in juarez for the pope’s arrival. everyone in attendance at the sun bowl was just three miles away from the pope. many people we talked to say the pope’s message of peace and love is one that touched their lives dearly. “let us ask him to give us open hearts ….open to his call …no more death or exploitation.” “it touched me because i felt like he was there specifically blessing us.” while it was a special day for thousands in juarez and in el paso– presdential hopeful donald trump didnt feel the same. he said quote,”i think that the pope is a very political person. i don’t think he understands the danger of the open border we have with mexico. i think mexico got him to do it because mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing.” en quote. but the vatican responded saying trumps remarks are very strange. the pope always talks about migration problems all around the world, of the duties we have to solve these problems in a humane manner, of hosting those who come from other countries in search of a life of dignity and peace.” the kids will be heading back to school around the borderland today. but some schools in the el paso district will have a delayed start. the district says this is due to clean-up. those schools include… bowie, jefferson/silva, guillen, aoy, douglass, beall, zavala, hart, burleson, the san jacinto learning center, and raymond telles academy. thos schools all start at 10 a-m today. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… new this morning … from our new mexico mobile newsroom– the sunland park police officer who shot a man in december last year has been cleared. district attorney mark d’antonio says it was justified. according to investigators, officer mike vega with the sunland park police department was responding to a domestic violence situation at a home in the 800 block of cedar park avenue in sunland park. the officer said 18 year old rafael cervantes, was using a knife to hold a woman and a young child hostage inside a vehicle. cervantes was shot by the officer. charges against him are still pending. we still have much more to come here on good morning el paso — including what it took to volunteer for the human chain that lined the streets of juarez for the pope’s route. / and later–what it meant to el pasoans that watched the mass on this side of the border at the sun bowl. / meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first! nearly 80 thousand volunteers in white