While making his first visit as Pontiff to Latin America, Pope Francis will stop in the small, poverty-stricken countries of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.

As part of his week long visit, from July 5 to 13, to these South American countries, Pope Francis’s own Jesuit order, a group well known for its insistence on social justice, will be spotlighted for its centuries of work in the region.

The pope’s visit will make a special focus on indigenous peoples, border conflicts, as well as environmental concerns that affect the Amazon area. Commenting on Pope Francis’s expertise regarding the area, Daniel Gussmann, the director of the Catholic Church's Caritas charity in Buenos Aires, says, "He knows this reality, because he worked so long with the bishops of Latin America and as head of the Jesuits in Argentina."

"He knows these countries, and their problems with poverty and where much of the population has no access to land," Gussmann added, as reported in the Associated Press.

Focusing on the various marginalized groups in the region, the pope plans to meet with the elderly poor in Ecuador, visit Bolivia's Palmasola prison, tour Paraguay's Banado Norte, and preside over a meeting of various grassroots organizations representing the concerns of indigenous peoples.

"Francis comes not to protect the church but to protect the poor and the Earth," said Michael Lee, associate professor of theology and Latin American studies at Fordham University, adding, "That's an enormous shift, and one that's going to be very well received in these countries and by these people."

This visit to the poorer Latin American countries comes ahead of a planned September trip to the U.S., including Washington, D.C. where, according to NPR, Pope Francis will meet with homeless people, immigrants, and prisoners, along with President Obama.

Before visiting the U.S., however, the pope will visit Cuba.