Pope Leo XIV Celebrates First South American Mass in Uruguay

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass in South America on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at Parque París Londres in Paysandú, Uruguay, according to The Associated Press. More than 30,000 people registered to attend, including many from Uruguay as well as neighboring Argentina and Brazil.

The Mass was part of a three-nation, 12-day South American tour that began on Nov. 6, less than a month after Leo underwent lung cancer surgery on Oct. 13. The pope arrived in Montevideo on Friday after a nearly 14-hour flight from Rome and was welcomed by Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi at Carrasco International Airport.

Paysandú, about 375 kilometers (230 miles) from Montevideo, is a city that no pope has ever visited before. Crowds arrived in rain ponchos when the gates opened at 5:30 a.m. Some attendees said they were moved that Leo continued with the tour despite his recent cancer diagnosis.

"He’s the representative of Christ but he’s human. And we weren’t sure if he could make it, but he pushed through for us," said Soledad Sánchez, 73, who drove to Paysandú from northern Uruguay. "He made it here to give us a message of peace because he knows our world needs it right now."

The Mass was dedicated to Blessed Jacinto Vera, a 19th-century priest who became Uruguay’s first bishop. Leo praised him on Friday as a pastor who traveled the country’s roads to help the poor.

Leo’s itinerary in Uruguay also included a visit to a Montevideo neighborhood affected by drug trafficking and gang violence, a meeting with the education community at the Catholic University of Uruguay, and a prayer vigil at Centenario Stadium. On Sunday he was to celebrate Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three in Florida before traveling to Argentina.

The tour continues to Argentina and then Peru, where Leo spent about two decades as a missionary, seminary formator and bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He holds Peruvian citizenship. The Vatican described the Peru segment as a homecoming.

Uruguay is Latin America’s most secular country, with a population of 3.5 million. The last papal visit to Uruguay was by Pope John Paul II in 1988. The Catholic Church had no new seminarians in Uruguay in 2024, though a few have since entered training for the priesthood.

Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane that he had no doubt the trip had to go forward and credited his recovery to "Trusting God, good doctors, good surgeons, and overall I think a healthy lifestyle."

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.