If you missed the Rosary for Peace in the Middle East, you can still watch it and join us in prayer here.
Pope Leo XIV in Uruguay: A Call to Defend Life, Confront Loneliness and Restore Hope
SPECIAL REPORT | POPE LEO XIV'S APOSTOLIC JOURNEY
Ana Paula Morales
11/8/202610 min read
Pope Leo XIV during his first meeting with Uruguayan authorities in Independence Square, Montevideo, on November 6, 2026. Photo: Martín Cerchiari / Presidency of Uruguay.
Montevideo, Uruguay.-Church bells rang out across Uruguay on Friday afternoon as Pope Leo XIV's plane touched down at Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport at 4:19 p.m. For five minutes, churches and chapels throughout the country marked the pontiff's arrival, while Catholics were invited to pray a Hail Mary for the spiritual fruits of his visit.
It was a historic moment for Uruguay, which had not welcomed a reigning pope since John Paul II's visits in 1987 and 1988.
Leo XIV arrived from Rome following a flight of more than 13 hours, beginning his sixth international apostolic journey. The trip will also take him to Argentina and Peru before his scheduled return to Rome on November 17.
His first day was marked by a large public welcome, a meeting with President Yamandú Orsi and a wide-ranging address that went well beyond the usual diplomatic formalities.
Speaking before an estimated 30,000 people in Montevideo's Independence Square, according to Vatican News, the pope addressed the protection of unborn life, parental responsibility, education, loneliness, suicide, employment and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
At the heart of his message was a conviction that human dignity cannot be measured by age, economic circumstances, physical independence or productivity.
A Historic Welcome in Montevideo
The papal aircraft landed 11 minutes ahead of schedule. Following an official reception at the airport, Leo XIV travelled into central Montevideo.
Independence Square, one of the capital's most recognisable landmarks, hosted the welcome ceremony and the pope's first public address on Uruguayan soil.
Government officials, representatives of civil society, members of the diplomatic corps and thousands of well-wishers gathered to greet him.
The visit's motto, "I Bring You Good News of Great Joy," reflects the pastoral character of a journey intended to strengthen the local Church and bring a message of hope to the wider population.
Following the ceremony, the pope's programme included a private meeting with President Yamandú Orsi at the José Artigas Building.
The day also featured evening prayers with bishops, priests, deacons, members of religious communities and seminarians at Montevideo's Metropolitan Cathedral.
Uruguay: A Left-Led Democracy Facing Social Challenges
Leo XIV's visit comes at a significant moment for Uruguay, a country that has maintained uninterrupted democratic government since the restoration of constitutional rule in 1985.
Since March 1, 2025, Uruguay has been governed by President Yamandú Orsi, a member of the Broad Front, a left-wing political coalition that returned to power after five years under former President Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party.
With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Uruguay faces several social and demographic challenges that provide important context for the pope's remarks.
According to the National Statistics Institute, 16.6% of the population was living in income poverty in 2025.
Among children under six, the figure reached 29.1%, highlighting the disproportionate impact of poverty on younger generations.
Mental health remains another major concern.
The Ministry of Public Health reported 668 deaths by suicide in 2025, equivalent to 19.16 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Although the figure represented a decline from the previous year, suicide prevention remains a public health priority.
Preliminary figures from the Interior Ministry also recorded 369 homicides in 2025, compared with 382 in 2024.
Uruguay is additionally experiencing a sustained decline in births, an ageing population and ongoing challenges involving social inclusion and opportunities for young people.
These concerns formed part of the broader social backdrop to Leo XIV's first address.
Why Is Uruguay One of Latin America's Most Secular Countries?
Uruguay's relationship with the Catholic Church differs markedly from that of many other Latin American nations.
The constitutional separation of Church and State was established by the Constitution approved in 1917, which came into force in 1919, following decades of secularising reforms.
Article 5 of the current Uruguayan Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and establishes that the State does not support any religion.
Uruguay therefore has no official religion, while freedom of conscience and religious practice are constitutionally protected.
The country's secular tradition has also shaped its public calendar and cultural customs.
Holy Week is officially associated with Tourism Week, while Christmas Day is also legally designated Family Day.
Yet secularism has not eliminated the Church's presence in public life. Catholic institutions continue to operate schools, charitable organisations, social outreach programmes and pastoral initiatives throughout the country.
In his address, Leo XIV emphasised that a secular State should provide space for believers and non-believers to coexist, without excluding religious communities from contributing to the common good.
Only 33% Identify as Catholic, Despite 2.75 Million Recorded Baptisms
Uruguay's religious landscape reveals a striking contrast.
According to Latinobarómetro 2024, only 33% of Uruguayans identify as Catholic, the lowest proportion among the 17 Latin American countries surveyed.
However, figures released by the Holy See on November 3, 2026, based on 2024 ecclesiastical statistics, recorded approximately 2.75 million baptised Catholics, representing 76.9% of the population used in the Church's statistical calculations.
The discrepancy reflects two different measures of religious affiliation.
Vatican figures count those recorded as baptised Catholics, while Latinobarómetro measures how individuals currently describe their religious identity.
The contrast illustrates the challenges facing a Church whose historical presence remains substantial, even as personal identification with Catholicism has declined.
A Church with 369 Priests and 436 Women Religious
Uruguay's Catholic Church has also undergone significant institutional changes.
According to the Vatican's Central Office of Church Statistics, the country has nine ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 238 parishes and 369 priests, including 203 diocesan priests and 166 priests belonging to religious institutes.
There are also 97 permanent deacons, 436 professed women religious, 47 religious brothers who are not priests and 71 major seminarians.
Historical comparisons reveal the scale of the transformation.
In 1980, Uruguay had 587 priests and 1,621 professed women religious. By 2024, those figures had fallen to 369 and 436 respectively.
That represents a decline of approximately 37% in the number of priests and 73% in the number of women religious over 44 years.
Baptisms have also decreased, from 41,673 in 1980 to 11,066 in 2024, a trend that must be considered alongside the country's demographic and religious changes.
Despite these difficulties, Catholic institutions continue to play a significant role in education and social welfare.
Vatican statistics record approximately 72,600 students enrolled in Catholic educational institutions and 149 charitable and social assistance organisations.
This is the Church Leo XIV has come to visit: an institution with deep historical roots, but one facing the challenges of secularisation, declining vocations and the transmission of faith to new generations.
The Artigas Monument: A Lesson from Uruguay's History
One of the most distinctive features of Leo XIV's address was his decision to begin with a symbol of Uruguay's national history: the monument to General José Gervasio Artigas in Independence Square.
The pope recalled the 1811 exodus of the Eastern People, known as La Redota, when families accompanied Artigas on a difficult journey marked by uncertainty and hardship.
Drawing on the figures depicted in the monument's reliefs, he developed a reflection on contemporary Uruguay.
He spoke of children, mothers, workers, older people and those who needed assistance to continue their journey.
The pope also acknowledged Uruguay's democratic experience, which marked 40 years of uninterrupted constitutional government in 2025.
Political authority, he argued, must be understood as a responsibility exercised in service of the common good and subject to accountability before citizens.
He also recognised Uruguay's progress in renewable energy and highlighted the importance of protecting natural resources for future generations.
Defending Life and Supporting Families
One of the most significant passages in the pope's address concerned the protection of human life from its earliest stages.
Referring to a woman carrying a baby in the Artigas monument, Leo XIV turned his attention to unborn children and the responsibilities associated with motherhood and fatherhood.
He argued that human dignity does not depend on an individual's independence or ability to defend themselves.
Protecting unborn life, he stressed, must also involve supporting parents and ensuring that families have the social and economic conditions needed to raise their children.
His remarks carry particular significance in Uruguay, where declining birth rates and demographic change are reshaping the country's future.
The pope also described the family as the first place where individuals learn to live alongside others and receive the care they need to develop.
Loneliness and Suicide: When Hope Begins to Fade
Another particularly poignant moment came when Leo XIV reflected on the figure of an elderly woman represented in the monument.
From that image, he turned to those who depend on the care, protection and companionship of others.
Human dignity, he warned, cannot be measured by productivity, financial independence or the ability to work.
He then addressed one of Uruguay's most painful social problems: suicide.
The pope observed that people may be surrounded by others and still experience profound loneliness, overwhelming distress or a loss of hope.
He emphasised the importance of family relationships, healthcare services and supportive communities.
His remarks resonated against the backdrop of Uruguay's official statistics, which recorded 668 deaths by suicide in 2025.
The Church, he explained, seeks to work alongside those who provide care and support to people experiencing vulnerability and suffering.
His message brought a spiritual perspective to an issue that also demands sustained medical, psychological and social responses.
Education, Employment and Artificial Intelligence
Leo XIV also devoted part of his address to children and young people.
Protecting future generations, he said, means providing adequate education and genuine opportunities to develop their abilities.
Education should prepare individuals not only for employment, but also for responsible participation in society.
Turning to work, he recalled St John Paul II's teaching on the primacy of the human person over economic activity.
That principle, he suggested, is especially relevant amid rapid technological developments and the expansion of artificial intelligence.
The pope called for these technologies to serve human development and create opportunities, rather than reducing workers to replaceable components of economic production.
A Church Seeking to Serve the Common Good
In a country with a deeply rooted secular tradition, Leo XIV also addressed religious freedom and coexistence between believers and non-believers.
He recognised the importance of a State that protects freedom of conscience and respects different convictions.
At the same time, he argued that institutional religious neutrality should not mean excluding religion from public life.
Religious communities, he said, can contribute to the common good while fully respecting the autonomy of civil institutions.
The Catholic Church wishes to continue offering Uruguay the message of Jesus Christ and working with others to build a society that recognises the dignity of every person.
He also underlined the importance of peaceful cooperation among Latin American nations, noting that Montevideo hosts the Secretariat of Mercosur, the regional trade bloc.
Meeting President Orsi and Praying at the Metropolitan Cathedral
Following the public welcome, Leo XIV held a private meeting with President Yamandú Orsi at the José Artigas Building.
His programme also included a visit to Montevideo's historic Cabildo before his encounter with the local Church.
In the evening, the pope presided over Vespers at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Saints Philip and James, joined by bishops, priests, deacons, members of religious communities and seminarians.
In his homily, Leo XIV recalled that the cathedral preserves the baptismal font at which José Gervasio Artigas was baptised, once again linking Uruguay's national history with the Church's presence in the country.
Reflecting on the psalm proclaimed during the liturgy, he invited consecrated men and women to examine where they place their trust and to renew their fidelity to Jesus Christ.
He also acknowledged the often unseen service of those who devote their lives to others, particularly through the sacrament of reconciliation, care for the sick and assistance to people in need.
His words offered recognition to generations of clergy and religious who have served their communities, even when advancing age or limited resources make their work more difficult.
The celebration highlighted the pastoral purpose of a visit intended not only to strengthen institutional ties, but also to renew the faith and missionary commitment of Uruguay's Catholics.
Next Stops: Paysandú, Casavalle and a Youth Vigil
Leo XIV's visit continues on Saturday, November 7, with a programme combining liturgical celebrations, social encounters and activities involving young people.
In the morning, he is scheduled to travel to Paysandú, where he will celebrate Mass at Parque París Londres.
He will then return to Montevideo to visit the Casavalle community, an area where Church organisations are involved in supporting families and people facing social vulnerability.
The pope is also due to meet representatives of the education sector at the Catholic University of Uruguay.
The day will conclude with a prayer vigil at the Centenario Stadium, one of the country's most iconic sporting venues.
On Sunday, November 8, Leo XIV will travel to Florida for Mass near the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, Uruguay's patroness.
Later that day, he is scheduled to depart for Buenos Aires to continue his apostolic journey across Latin America.
A First Day Centred on Human Dignity
Leo XIV's opening day in Uruguay delivered a message directed not only at political leaders and Church institutions, but also at families, workers, young people and those living on the margins of society.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the Catholic Church's internal challenges, the pope placed vulnerable people at the centre of his address: unborn children, those experiencing loneliness, older people, workers facing technological change and young people struggling to find opportunities.
By invoking the history of the families who followed Artigas, he offered a vision of national life rooted in shared responsibility.
His visit also carries particular significance in a country where Catholic identification has declined and religious communities are searching for new ways to communicate the Gospel.
From Montevideo, Leo XIV has begun a journey that seeks to build bridges between faith, history and the social challenges of a nation welcoming a reigning pope for the first time in nearly four decades.
Catholic faithful welcome Pope Leo XIV in Montevideo, Uruguay, on November 6, 2026, holding a banner featuring his portrait alongside the Vatican and Uruguayan flags during his historic apostolic visit. Photo: Presidency of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
Pope Leo XIV travels through the streets of Montevideo in the popemobile as crowds gather to welcome him on November 6, 2026, marking the beginning of his three-day apostolic visit to Uruguay. Photo: Presidency of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
