On Saturday, Pope Leo urged people in South America to close the gap between their countries as he led a rally on the Uruguay-Argentina border with tens of thousands of followers during his 12-day trip across a deeply polarized region.
The 71-year-old pontiff who is embarking on one of the most demanding overseas tours by a Catholic leader in generations less than a month after having a cancerous lung tumor removed, called on people across Latin America to treat each other with fairness, integrity and devotion.
Leo is the first US-born pope visiting Uruguay on the first stop of a tour that will also take him to Argentina and Peru.
The Vatican has explained the trip as a homecoming for Leo who served as a neutralized citizen in Peru for decades.
Leo will return to Montevideo on Sunday afternoon for distinct events including a nighttime prayer vigil that is expected to attract a crowd of thousands of young people.
The Pope will head to Argentina on Sunday where he will meet and give a speech to President Javier Milei-a libertarian seen as a close ally of Donald Trump who slammed Leo earlier this year following the Pope’s criticism of geopolitical tensions with Iran.
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