Pope Leo hold first mass in Uruguay, urges crowd to be ‘bridge builders’

Vatican says some 40,000 people gathered to listen to the head of the Roman Catholic Church in western city of Paysandu. Pope Leo XIV has addressed tens of thousands of people who gathered for his first mass in western Uruguay as he continues his 12-day tour of Latin America. The head of the Roman Catholic Church urged the crowd at Paris London Park in Paysandu on Saturday to be “bridge builders” and “share the joy” of their faith.

More than 30,000 people – many from Uruguay but also from neighbouring Argentina and Brazil – had registered in advance to attend the service, about 375km (230 miles) from the capital, Montevideo. The Vatican said 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 – which also includes Argentina and Peru – which had been in doubt after the 71-year-old American pope underwent lung cancer surgery last month.

The pontiff appeared to be in good health on Saturday.