# Pope Leo is met by football chants from worshippers as he begins South American tour with 40,000-strong mass in Uruguay

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/pope-leo-is-met-by-football-chants-from-worshippers-as-he-begins-south-american-tour-with-40000-strong-mass-in-uruguay/
- Published: 2026-11-07T17:18:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16274047/Pope-Leo-football-worshippers-South-American-mass-Uruguay.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Football, Sport, World

## Key points

- About 40,000 people attended the Mass in Paysandú.
- Leo is seeking to strengthen Catholicism in secular Uruguay.
- His South American tour followed recent lung cancer surgery.

## Summary

Pope Leo XIV drew a crowd of about 40,000 to an outdoor Mass in Paysandú, Uruguay, as he began a 12-day tour of South America. The visit is part of his effort to strengthen the Catholic Church’s presence in Uruguay, one of Latin America’s most secular countries, and to encourage people to turn to faith amid current challenges.

More than 30,000 people had registered for the service, with the Vatican saying another 10,000 attended despite rain and blustery weather. The crowd greeted Leo with football-style chants, cheers and yellow handkerchiefs. His itinerary also included a visit to a Montevideo neighbourhood where the Church supports housing and addiction recovery programmes; the tour had been in doubt after he underwent lung cancer surgery on 13 October.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Pope Leo is met by football chants from worshippers as he begins South American tour with 40,000-strong mass in Uruguay](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16274047/Pope-Leo-football-worshippers-South-American-mass-Uruguay.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [DW: More than 40,000 gather as Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Uruguay](https://www.dw.com/en/more-than-40-000-gather-as-pope-leo-xiv-celebrates-mass-in-uruguay/a-79886543?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.