In brief

• Pope Leo XIV ended his Uruguay visit with a mass at the national Marian sanctuary in Florida.
• In his homily he urged men to treat their wives with respect and live with integrity.
• He was then due to travel to Argentina for a face-to-face meeting with President Javier Milei.

Final mass in Florida

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the mass in front of the Basilica Cattedrale and National Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three in Florida, about 93 km north of Montevideo. It was the last stop of his trip in Uruguay before moving on to Argentina (Leone: 'La politica pensi al bene comune'. Faccia a faccia con Milei – ANSA) (Il Papa a Florida per l'ultima tappa in Uruguay, 'i governanti perseguano il bene di tutti' – ANSA) (Il Papa a Florida per l'ultima tappa in Uruguay, poi vola in Argentina – ANSA).

A call to fathers and husbands

In his homily, Leo addressed fathers and grandfathers directly, asking them to treat their wives with respect, to seek forgiveness and to live with integrity even when that demands sacrifice. The message landed in a region where gender-based violence remains a serious problem, and it came on the third day of his tour of Latin America (Papa Leone, l’ultima omelia in Uruguay poi in Argentina da Milei. Agli uomini: “Trattate le mogli con rispetto” – dire.it).

Women and the passing on of faith

The focus of the Florida service was the role of women in keeping the faith alive and passing it on. Leo paid tribute to women regarded as saints in Uruguayan Catholic tradition, saying he had come as a pilgrim to share faith and affection with the local church.

Next stop: Argentina

After the mass the pope was scheduled to travel onward to Argentina, where he was expected to hold a face-to-face meeting with President Javier Milei. Leo has also urged political leaders to pursue the common good of all citizens, a theme he returned to during the Uruguay leg of the trip.

The Argentine stage places the pontiff in a country whose politics have been marked by sharp polarization, which makes the meeting with Milei one of the most closely watched moments of the tour.