CNN

McCain, wife Cindy, and Joe Lieberman visited the Basilica of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Thursday.

MEXICO CITY (CNN) – News conferences, like baseball games, can sometimes be plagued by rain delays. Just ask John McCain.

The Republican presidential candidate had to stop a session with reporters in Mexico City Thursday afternoon as heavy rain fell at the Ixtapalapa police station. McCain made faces as joked about the weather during the interruption. Reporters then had to gather at the edge of the podium at McCain's feet to hear as his words competed with rain echoing off the metal roof.

Asked if this was the oddest news conference he ever held, McCain said "Certainly the most unusual." He joked that the rain was a result of his visit to the Basilica of the Our Lady of Guadalupe earlier on the day, and he had noted earlier rain is good luck in his home state of Arizona.

Rain issues resolved, McCain discussed the shake-up at the top of his presidential campaign. He called the moves "a natural evolution of our campaign as we become more and more of a nationwide campaign, with increased staff and increased responsibilities."

The Arizona senator called his three-day Latin American swing an excellent visit, saying he is encouraged by U.S. relations with Colombia and Mexico as he was relations with Canada during his visit to that nation last month.

McCain returns to the United States Thursday night, and spends the holiday weekend with his family at their ranch in Sedona, Arizona.