Pope, in final Mass in Uruguay, reconsecrates nation to the Virgin Mary, calls on faithful to evangelize

November 09, 2026

In his final Mass in Uruguay, Pope Leo XIV reconsecrated the nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and called on the faithful to evangelize.

The Mass took place on the morning of November 8, the third day of the Pope’s apostolic journey to three South American nations (program), at the Cathedral Basilica in Florida. The city is 60 miles away from Montevideo, the nation’s capital, where the Pontiff had spent the night. The cathedral is also the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three.

During his automobile ride to Florida, Pope Leo stopped to pray at Santa Teresita Parish in Juanicó, where he greeted 2,000 of the faithful (video).

In his homily during the Mass in Florida’s cathedral (video 1, video 2), Pope Leo recalled that the image of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three “is linked to a decisive moment in Uruguay’s history. In 1825, those who were fighting for the freedom of this land also turned to Mary, to place the beginning of their efforts under her protection.”

“Since that time, generations have come and gone, circumstances have changed, including the relationship of many Uruguayans to the faith,” Pope Leo continued. “Yet she has remained here. While Mary accompanied the history of this people, at the same time in so many homes other women preserved the faith and passed it on to their children.”

After recalling the efforts of mothers, grandmothers, and religious sister to pass on the faith down through the generations, Pope Leo said:

I would also like to address the men—fathers and grandfathers. Your children and grandchildren need to see that the faith occupies a genuine place in the lives of the men in your family. Imitate Saint Joseph, who took on the task of raising Jesus, bringing him to the temple, teaching him to work honestly and showing him that God must come first in a person’s life.

Dear fathers and grandfathers, young people need to see that you pray, receive the sacraments, treat your wives with respect, ask for forgiveness and live with integrity, even when doing so requires sacrifice. Children learn a great deal by seeing that their father can kneel before God without feeling that he is any less of a man for doing it.

“People of Uruguay: you must set out on the journey,” the Pope continued. “You must enter people’s homes once more, draw near to them, listen to their questions and bring them to Christ! Each of you knows a person toward whom you need to take that step: perhaps a child, a friend, a neighbor, someone who stopped believing long ago or who has never had anyone close to them to speak to them about God.”

The Pontiff concluded:

To Mary, commander and guide of this people, I wish to consecrate this nation anew, to entrust this land and all who live in it to her protection and to implore God that, through her powerful intercession, he may thwart the works of the evil one and preserve beloved Uruguay from whatever might lead it away from Christ. May this Golden Rose, offered as a sign of veneration and filial love, also remind her children that they are called to imitate her by loving Christ as she loved him, and bringing him to others as she brought him. Amen.

As the Mass drew to a close, Pope Leo thanked the civil and religious authorities, volunteers, and others who made his visit possible.

“Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, I ask God to bless the Uruguayan people and to guide them along paths of unity and peace,” he added. “I carry you in my heart and I ask that you continue to accompany me with your prayers. Thank you very much, Uruguay!”

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey to Uruguay: Holy Mass (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 11/8/26)
• Holy Mass in the square in front of the Cathedral Basilica of Florida, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three (Holy See Press Office, 11/8/26)
• Pope at Saint Therese Parish: 'The love of God is always with us' (Vatican News, 11/8/26)
• Pope re-consecrates Uruguay to Mary on its patroness’ feast day (Vatican News, 11/8/26)
• Pope leaves Uruguay with a call to keep sowing faith (Vatican News, 11/8/26)