Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in Paysandú, Uruguay, urging an estimated 40,000 people to build bridges of fraternity and faith, using mate tea as a symbol of unity.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Pope Leo XIV urged an estimated 40,000 people in Uruguay on Saturday to build bridges of fraternity and faith, using his first Mass in South America to deliver an ode to the region's beloved mate tea and raise the profile of the Catholic Church in its most secular country.
The crowd erupted in a chant of "ole, ole, ole, ole, Pope, Pope!" when Leo's plane landed in Paysandú, in western Uruguay on the border with Argentina. They cheered again, blew horns and waved yellow handkerchiefs when he arrived in his open-sided popemobile at the Mass site in the Parque Paris Londres, a sprawling green space on the southern edge of Paysandú.
More than 30,000 people — many from Uruguay but also from neighbouring Argentina and Brazil — had registered in advance to attend the service, around 230 miles from the capital, Montevideo. The Vatican said on Saturday another 10,000 had shown up beyond that, despite the morning rain and blustery, grey skies.
It was the first Mass of Leo's three-nation South American tour that had been in doubt after the 71-year-old American pope underwent lung cancer surgery on October 13.
In his homily, Leo reminded them that the Catholic faith had 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!"
Leo asked the faithful to build bridges of fraternity, recalling the nearby bridge over the Uruguay River that connects Uruguay and Argentina and over which many pilgrims crossed to attend the Mass.
He also pointed to the ritual of drinking mate, the bitter herbal tea that Uruguayans and their neighbors carry everywhere, as a poignant symbol of unity and encounter that he suggested should be applied to spreading the faith.
"It teaches us to share and to be together, strengthening the bonds that unite us as brothers and sisters," he said, drawing a round of applause and a smile from the Pope.
Mate, a cherished national symbol in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, is above all a sharing ritual. The leaves are steeped in a hollowed gourd and the drink is sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla, and the gourd passes from hand to hand among friends, family and sometimes strangers, refilled for hours.
Everyone drinks from the same straw, and Uruguayans drink more mate per person than anyone else in the world, according to industry estimates.
"We must reflect on these symbols that we share, which give us identity and a sense of belonging, which speak to us of our origins and point us toward the future," Leo said.
"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 had driven to Paysandú from northern Uruguay, her eyes filling with tears. "He made it here to give us a message of peace because he knows our world needs it right now."
"I'm not religious. I'd never go to Mass if it weren't the pope, but he surprised me. He made it appealing, the way he talked about things we all have in common, like mate," said Jorge Monzón, 64, from Paysandú. "I personally felt a sense of communion."
"Argentina is a much more religious country than Uruguay, and there's this desire to be here to witness something historic," said Luciana Lobato, 20, an Argentine tour agent who organized buses for 180 pilgrims from across the border.
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.
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