Follow-up: Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Uruguay, Tells Leaders Authority Comes From the People
Pope Leo XIV's apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru formally began on November 6. At 6:10 p.m. local time, in the square in front of the Edificio José Artigas in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, he met President Yamandú Orsi, government authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps, and delivered the first major address of the trip.
According to the schedule and full address published by the Holy See Press Office, President Orsi spoke first in welcome, and the Pope then addressed the gathering. Afterwards the Pope entered the building for a courtesy visit to the President, followed by the official photograph, an exchange of gifts and a private meeting. He then greeted the crowd in the square before travelling to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for Vespers with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians.
The address was built around the reliefs on the Artigas monument at the centre of the square. Quoting Uruguay's founding father Artigas in 1813 — 'My authority comes from you, and it ceases by your sovereign presence' — the Pope said authority is received from a specific community and is accountable to that community. He noted that 2025 marked four decades of uninterrupted democracy in Uruguay, and that public authority finds its reason for being in service to the common good.
He also spoke of responsibility to future generations, praising Uruguay's electricity grid, now powered almost entirely by renewable sources, as the fruit of sustained decisions over many years, while urging long-term planning for transport, production and the use of land, water and energy. Speaking of the relief of a woman holding a baby, he said the unborn already belong to the human family, that protecting the unborn and supporting families are inseparable, and he repeated Saint John Paul II's words that 'the future of humanity passes by way of the family.'
The Pope also addressed education and work amid rapid technological change, the pain of loneliness and suicide, and access to health care. Drawing on his own recent illness, he said ensuring that everyone can obtain a timely diagnosis and treatment, regardless of resources, is a duty confronting every society. He closed with Uruguay's tradition of plural coexistence and religious freedom, and its constitutional commitment to resolving disputes peacefully.
Uruguay is the first stop of the Pope's 12-day South America journey. As GSM reported earlier, he departed on November 6 for a trip covering 10 cities in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with 36 addresses scheduled.
(Source: Holy See Press Office)
Source: Holy See Press Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：教宗良十四世在教宗专车上向人群致意（资料图，2026年6月访问西班牙时）。Frodlekis 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Pope Leo XIV greeting crowds from the popemobile (file photo, during his June 2026 visit to Spain). By Frodlekis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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