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Faith, Service and Hope: Pope Leo XIV’s First Two Days in Secular Uruguay
From prayers for vocations to a visit with struggling families, the pope’s Nov. 6–7 encounters offered a message for a Church learning to share its faith in a deeply secular society.
SPECIAL REPORT | POPE LEO XIV IN SOUTH AMERICA
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
11/9/20263 min read
Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful during a prayer vigil at Montevideo’s Centenario stadium on Nov. 7, 2026. He encouraged Uruguay’s Catholics to persevere in their faith and bear witness through everyday acts of love and service. Photo: Vatican Media.
Pope Leo XIV began his visit to Uruguay by encouraging a Church whose challenges extend beyond declining numbers: how to pass on the faith, accompany people facing hardship and make the Gospel visible in everyday life.
Across his first two days, the settings changed from Montevideo’s cathedral to a Mass in Paysandú, a parish in Casavalle, a university and the Centenario stadium. His appeals linked prayer and service, education and human dignity, personal commitment and the search for God.
A secular country with a lasting Catholic presence
Uruguay’s secular identity is essential to understanding the visit. In an interview with Vatican News before the trip, Archbishop Gianfranco Gallone, the apostolic nuncio, said Catholics account for roughly 32%–33% of the population. He described scarce vocations and religious communities struggling to pass their ministries to a new generation.
Those figures should be distinguished from baptismal statistics. The Vatican’s Central Office for Church Statistics recorded 2.754 million baptized Catholics in 2024, or 76.9% of the population. Baptismal affiliation and present-day religious identification measure different things.
The same official data provide a picture of the Church’s personnel:
According to Vatican statistics for 2024, the Catholic Church in Uruguay had 369 priests: 203 diocesan priests and 166 priests belonging to religious institutes. It also counted 47 professed men religious who were not priests, 436 professed women religious and 97 permanent deacons, with 238 parishes across the country.
The 166 religious priests are included in the total of 369. Compared with 1980, the number of priests fell from 587 to 369, while professed women religious declined from 1,621 to 436.
Nov. 6: A local response to a wider challenge
At evening prayer in Montevideo’s cathedral, Leo highlighted the response to a difficult moment: Uruguay’s interdiocesan seminary had received no new candidates in 2024.
The pope recalled how communities began praying and fasting for vocations. He welcomed subsequent responses to the priesthood and consecrated life and encouraged bishops worldwide to organize similar initiatives.
The absence of new entrants at that particular seminary did not mean Uruguay had no seminarians. The distinction matters in a country where small communities continue to sustain pastoral work.
Nov. 7: Bridges, roots and a shared cup of mate
At Mass in Paysandú, Leo drew on three familiar images: the international bridge, the region’s palm groves and mate, the traditional drink shared among relatives and friends.
The bridge represented connection and the need for solid foundations in faith. The palms evoked roots and community. Sharing mate suggested hospitality and companionship.
Together, the images framed his invitation to pass on the faith and support families, children and older people.
In Casavalle, faith meant responding to suffering
Back in Montevideo, Leo visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Casavalle. His message addressed children afraid to attend school, mothers unable to feed their families and neighborhoods harmed by violence.
He thanked benefactors supporting the parish’s housing initiative and called for cooperation among the Church, civil society and the state. Drawing on the Good Samaritan, he urged people to respond to suffering rather than pass by. www.vatican.va
Education that keeps the person at the center
At the Catholic University of Uruguay, Leo used the five senses to explore education. He encouraged attention, contemplation, discernment and listening, alongside a wise use of artificial intelligence.
His remarks connected technological change with an older responsibility: recognizing human dignity regardless of productivity. He also emphasized credible adults whose example helps young people learn to serve others.
At the Centenario, a message beyond Uruguay
During the evening prayer vigil, Leo said Uruguay’s experience could help other Christian communities learning what it means to be a minority.
He thanked parents, young people, priests, religious and laypeople who persevere. Bethlehem provided his central image: a small place could hold significance far beyond its size.
The pope urged believers to keep Christ at the center through prayer and the sacraments, and to make their faith visible through family life, honesty, forgiveness and service.
For international readers, that offers a thread through the first two days: a Church with fewer priests and sisters still has a mission expressed in classrooms, homes, parishes and relationships. Leo’s invitation was to renew that mission through a personal encounter with Christ.
