Carolina Bellocq
Montevideo Cathedral welcomed Pope Leo XIV as he presided over Vespers with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians.
The Catholic Church in Uruguay is small. Official figures show fewer than 400 priests and around 500 religious. About 11,000 people are baptized each year, representing one in five children born in the country.
Pope Leo addressed them after the celebration of Vespers. He reflected on the hymm they had sung and spoke about giving one's life to God.
POPE LEO XIV
Faithfulness to our vocation calls us to return again and again to Jesus Christ; to let Him be our treasure, the One we wish to resemble.
He encouraged them to live out their apostolic mission and share God's message with more people.
POPE LEO XIV
In this land, where many of our contemporaries barely know Jesus Christ and so many young people have grown up far from the life of the Church, that witness has a special power. May the way we look at others, the way we listen, and the way we reach out to those who suffer prompt them to ask where that love comes from.
The pope also highlighted an initiative in Uruguay. In 2024, when no one entered the seminary, Catholics across the country held days of fasting and prayer for more vocations. Since then, several young men have taken their first steps toward the priesthood.
POPE LEO XIV
From this Cathedral in Montevideo, I invite my brother bishops throughout the world to promote days of prayer and fasting in their dioceses for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. May parishes, families, and religious communities join together in this plea! May the example of this land inspire many others to pray with the same confidence!
After the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV left for some rest, bringing an intense first day of his Latin American journey to a close.
