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Uruguay to welcome Leo XIV with stadium vigil and Masses in Paysandú and Florida
The pope will begin his first apostolic journey to Latin America on Friday in Montevideo. In Uruguay, he will meet with President Yamandú Orsi and visit a parish in the Casavalle neighborhood.
CHURCH IN URUGUAY
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
11/5/20262 min read
AI-generated editorial illustration imagining Leo XIV greeting the faithful outside the Cathedral Basilica of Florida, Uruguay, where Mass is scheduled for November 8.
Pope Leo XIV will arrive in Uruguay on Friday, November 6, the first stop on his apostolic journey to Latin America. During his stay, which runs through Sunday, November 8, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in Paysandú and Florida, visit Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Montevideo’s Casavalle neighborhood and preside over a prayer vigil at Centenario Stadium, according to the Holy See’s official itinerary.
His arrival at Carrasco International Airport is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. local time. From there, the pope will travel to Plaza Independencia, where he will deliver his first address to government officials, civil society representatives and the diplomatic corps. He will then meet with President Yamandú Orsi and conclude the day with vespers at Montevideo’s Metropolitan Cathedral, according to the official Uruguayan schedule and the Vatican itinerary.
A visit to a country with a secular tradition
Leo XIV will begin his tour in a country whose Constitution, in Article 5, guarantees freedom of worship and establishes that the state does not support any religion.
According to the Pew Research Center, 52% of Uruguay’s population had no religious affiliation in 2020, while 44% identified as Christian. The Church’s Central Office of Statistics, meanwhile, recorded 2,754,000 baptized Catholics in Uruguay in 2024, nearly 77% of the population figure used by the Vatican. Church records count baptized people, while Pew’s estimate measures religious affiliation.
The itinerary will also take the pope to a Montevideo neighborhood at a time when the Orsi administration’s Ministry of Social Development has made reducing child poverty and assisting people experiencing homelessness priorities.
In Casavalle, Father Pablo Coimbra, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, told Reuters that Mass attendance had increased in the days leading up to the visit and that more people had come forward seeking baptism or Communion.
From Paysandú to the shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three
On Saturday, November 7, the pope will celebrate the first Mass of the journey at 10 a.m. in París Londres Park in Paysandú. Back in Montevideo, he will meet with the Casavalle community and representatives of the education sector at the Catholic University of Uruguay. At 7 p.m., he will preside over the vigil at Centenario Stadium, according to the Uruguayan visit schedule.
On Sunday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m., the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in the square outside the Cathedral Basilica of Florida, home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three. After lunch with Uruguay’s bishops, he will depart for Buenos Aires. The apostolic journey will continue in Argentina and Peru and conclude on November 17.
At Wednesday’s general audience, Leo XIV asked for prayers for the journey and expressed his hope that it would strengthen faith and renew hope. The Uruguayan leg carries the motto “I bring you good news of great joy,” featured in the official emblem published by the Vatican.