Pope Leo XIV closes his visit to Uruguay and arrives in Argentina on his South America tour

Pope Leo XIV closed his visit to Uruguay on Sunday with a Mass at the cathedral in Florida, dedicated to the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, the country's patroness, and departed in the afternoon for Argentina, the second stop on his South America tour, which will conclude in Peru.

Before a crowd gathered in Florida's central square, the pontiff asked families, especially mothers and grandmothers, “not to tire of passing on the faith,” above all to loved ones “who may seem far from God.” He thanked them for “having kept open, in so many families, a path to God” and acknowledged: “I know many of you carry a very concrete sorrow. You taught your children to pray, and today those children no longer pray.”

To fathers and grandfathers he said young people “need to see you pray, draw near to the sacraments, treat your wives with respect, ask forgiveness and live honestly, even when doing so demands sacrifice.” He also asked them to pray that rulers “seek the good of all with rectitude.”

Leo XIV arrived in the popemobile at the square, where thousands of Vatican flags waved to the rhythm of “come, I bring you great joy,” the verse that has marked the visit. On the way from Montevideo to Florida he stopped at the Santa Teresita parish in Juanicó, where he greeted a group of faithful and urged them “not to be afraid to say I am Catholic, I am Christian.”

On Saturday, the pope had denounced “religious indifference” in Uruguay, the country with the lowest rate of Catholics in Latin America. His visit included an official ceremony with President Yamandú Orsi, two Masses in cities in the interior, a visit to one of the neighborhoods with the highest poverty and violence rates in Montevideo and a massive vigil at the Centenario stadium. He will remain in Argentina until Wednesday and then travel to Peru, the final stage of the tour.

Photo: CNN en Español

Source: CNN en Español