Pope Leo XIV arrived in Montevideo on Friday, the first stop on his South American tour, and in a speech to Uruguayan authorities praised Mercosur, peaceful coexistence and care for the environment, but also defended life “even that which is still growing in the mother’s womb” and questioned euthanasia, in a country where both are legal and which is considered the most secular in the region.
The pontiff’s plane landed at 4.19 p.m. at Carrasco airport, where he was met by President Yamandú Orsi and the Cardinal Archbishop of Montevideo, Daniel Sturla. Leo XIV travelled in the popemobile along the waterfront promenade to Plaza Independencia, accompanied by some 3,000 volunteers, received the key to the city and visited the Cabildo and the Cathedral. Orsi welcomed him to a region “where there are no wars between countries”, called him “dear friend” and noted that in Uruguay former presidents sit together “in peace and joy”. Former presidents Julio María Sanguinetti, Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera and Luis Lacalle Pou attended the ceremony, along with Lucía Topolansky, widow of former president José Mujica.
In his speech, the Pope took up Francis’s ideas on the common good and care for natural resources, and praised the transformation of Uruguay’s energy mix. He stressed the importance of peace and dialogue in resolving differences and praised the role of Mercosur, the bloc Uruguay forms with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. “Coexistence between people of different origins and traditions is also part of Uruguay’s history,” he said.
Leo XIV also addressed the most sensitive issues for the country. He defended life from conception, a reference to abortion, legal in Uruguay since 2012, and to euthanasia, approved in 2025. “Everyone deserves to receive [care] until the natural end of life,” he said. He also referred to the high suicide rate: “No one should feel like a stranger among their own or think that their absence matters more than their presence.” And he said secularism does not mean religion must be confined to private life.
Uruguay separated Church and State in its 1919 Constitution. Only 36% of Uruguayans describe themselves as Catholic, according to Latinobarómetro, and one in ten of those consider themselves practising. A survey by Usina de Percepción Ciudadana found that 37% of Uruguayans attach importance to the visit and 63% little or none.
On Saturday the Pope will celebrate Mass in Paysandú, visit the Montevideo neighbourhood of Casavalle and the Catholic University of Uruguay, and lead a vigil at the Centenario Stadium. On Sunday he will celebrate Mass in Florida, before the shrine of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, the country’s patron saint, and travel to Buenos Aires. After Argentina and Peru, he will return to Rome on November 16.