“Forever”… In Uruguay, the Pope praises marriage and the birth rate

The Pope is on tour in South America. And on Saturday, Leo

A trip after lung cancer surgery

In Montevideo, the 71-year-old pontiff walked through the streets of the Casavalle district, which has the highest homicide rate in the country, against a backdrop of clashes between rival gangs involved in drug trafficking. He was surrounded by a large security detail, on the second day of a tour which will then take him to Argentina and Peru, three weeks after having undergone surgery for lung cancer.

In front of the crowd who came to listen to him on an open-air stage, the leader of the Catholics estimated that “a child from this country, so rich in resources, should not go to bed hungry […] and even less suffer violence to the point of losing his life”.

A country consumed by cocaine trafficking

In Uruguay, four out of ten children live in poverty, according to Unicef. Long considered one of the safest and most prosperous countries in Latin America, Uruguay plays a growing role in cocaine trafficking. Residents of Casavalle claim to hear shootings every day.

At the end of the day, Leo XIV presided over a prayer vigil at the Centenario stadium, in front of tens of thousands of faithful. In Uruguay, the most secular country in Latin America, 35% of the population declares themselves Catholic compared to 55% in Argentina or 67% in Peru, according to Latinobarómetro. Throughout Latin America, Catholicism has continued to decline, going from 80% of the population in 1995 to 55% in 2026. The head of the Church also regretted “the progression of secularization and increasingly widespread religious indifference”.

During his speech, the pope also called on young people to get married and have children. “Young people, dare to take the plunge yourself by getting married and starting a family. Don't be afraid of "forever"! “, he said. The fertility rate in the region is falling rapidly. It went from 5.8 children per woman in 1950 to 1.8 children in 2024.

A charge against the use of AI

Earlier in the day, during a mass, the Pope also praised mate, the beloved infusion of Uruguayans which “teaches us sharing and life in community”. “Mate even made it to Rome! “, he said, triggering laughter from the crowd gathered in Paysandu, 350 km northwest of Montevideo.

At the Catholic University of Uruguay, Leo XIV, on the other hand, warned of “dehumanization” caused by the use of AI in education, urging schools and universities to “put the person before the algorithm.”

Our articles on Uruguay

This Sunday, the pope will travel to the Uruguayan city of Florida and then to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, Francis.