Santos, 16, is a violinist in an orchestra made up of young musicians from the sprawling Mare "favela", home to more than 140,000 people, where violent police raids and clashes between drug gangs are commonplace.
Created in 2010, the "Mare do Amanha" orchestra is the brainchild of Carlos Prazeres and his father, Armando, a musical conductor who was kidnapped and killed in 1999.
Instead of turning his grief into hatred, Prazeres decided to use music to get children off the streets and away from drug dealing.
Sousa was part of the orchestra group that met Francis in the Vatican in 2017, an experience she will never forget.
Reporting by Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Pedro de Alcantara, Read, Caué Santos, Pope Francis, Santos, Francis, Carlos Prazeres, Armando, Prazeres, Amanha, Ana Beatriz Sousa, Sousa, Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira, Pedro Nunes, Andrei Khalip, Jonathan Oatis
Organizations:
Mare, Thomson
Locations:
Pedro, Lisbon, Portugal, LISBON, Rio de Janeiro, Mare ., Brazil