Pope Leo XIV drew some of the largest religious gatherings Uruguay has seen in decades on Saturday, as his first apostolic journey to South America continued.
About 40,000 people attended an open-air Mass in Paysandú, on the Argentine border, despite morning rain. More than 30,000 had registered in advance and the Vatican said about 10,000 more came on the day. In the evening the Pope led a prayer vigil at Montevideo's Centenary Stadium, where organisers put attendance as high as 100,000; other estimates were lower.
"Build bridges"
In his homily the Pope pointed to the nearby General Artigas bridge over the Uruguay River as a symbol of the Christian calling. "This is the vocation to which we are all called: to build bridges, strengthen bonds, unite, communicate," he said.
He said the Catholic faith has been "part of the life of the Uruguayan people since their earliest days, and it must be passed on to future generations with creative courage!" — a striking message in one of Latin America's most secular countries, where only about a third of adults identify as Catholic.
Earlier he visited Casavalle, a poor Montevideo neighbourhood troubled by drug-related violence, where he embraced a mother who described raising a child while homeless, and urged Uruguayans to overcome indifference towards the poor. At the vigil he called on young people to be saints.
Next: Argentina and Peru
The visit is the first by a pope to Uruguay since St John Paul II in 1988. The Pope now travels to Argentina, with stops including Buenos Aires, Luján and Córdoba, before ending the 6–17 November journey in Peru, where he served for decades as a missionary and as Bishop of Chiclayo.
Sources: Boston Globe / AP, EWTN News, Vatican.
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