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

Pope Leo XIV was welcomed today by around 40,000 worshippers in Uruguay. The trip is part of the pontiff's efforts to strengthen the Catholic Church's presence in Uruguay, long considered the most secular nation in Latin America. The crowd erupted in the stadium chant of 'Ole, ole, ole, ole, Pope, Pope!' when Leo's plane landed in Paysandu, in western Uruguay on the border with Argentina. They cheered again, blew horns and waved yellow handkerchiefs when he arrived in his open-sided popemobile at the Mass site in the Parque París Londres, a sprawling green space on the southern edge of Paysandu.More than 30,000 people - many from Uruguay but also from neighbouring Argentina and Brazil - had registered in advance to attend the service, around 375km (230 miles) from the capital, Montevideo. The Vatican said on Saturday another 10,000 had shown up beyond that, despite the morning rain and blustery, grey skies.It was the first Mass of Leo's three-nation South American tour that had been in doubt after the 71-year-old American pope underwent lung cancer surgery on October 13.Crowds of faithful in rain ponchos, many in the Vatican's yellow, began streaming into the site when the gates opened at 5.30am local time as a band played popular Spanish hymns. Pope Leo XIV greeted faithfuls as he arrives for a mass at the Paris Londres park, in Paysandu, 375km northwest of Montevideo, Uruguay, on Saturday Pope XIV was welcomed on Saturday by around 40,000 worshippers in Uruguay A person holds a baby for Pope Leo to bless on Saturday as he arrives to celebrate Mass at Parque Paris Londres on the first papal visit to Uruguay since 1988Some in the crowd said they were deeply moved that Leo pressed on with his ambitious 12-day tour despite his recent cancer diagnosis.'He's the representative of Christ but he's human. And we weren't sure if he could make it, but he pushed through for us,' said Soledad Sanchez, 73, who had driven to Paysandu from northern Uruguay, her eyes filling with tears. 'He made it here to give us a message of peace because he knows our world needs it right now.'Leo, who arrived in Uruguay on Friday and had an intense afternoon and evening of events, is seeking to urge the people in South America's most secular country, with a population of 3.5 million, to turn to the Catholic faith for strength in confronting today's problems and challenges.He was to press that message later Saturday by touring a Montevideo neighbourhood beset by drug trafficking and gang violence, where the church is working with municipal authorities to build housing and provide rehab programmes for addicts.His final event, too, was likely to drive home the call to reject religious indifference and embrace the faith: a prayer vigil in Montevideo's Centenary Stadium.At an evening vespers service Friday in Montevideo's cathedral, Leo acknowledged many people here don't even know about the faith or its heritage that is intrinsically tied to Uruguay's independence and nationhood. The Catholic Church, for example, had no new seminarians in Uruguay in 2024, though a few have since entered training for the priesthood. Pope Leo XIV greeted faithfuls as he arrives for a mass at the Paris Londres park, in Paysandu, Uruguay, on Saturday Pope Leo XIV offered a Holy Mass at the Paris Londres park, in Paysandu, 375km northwest of Montevideo, Uruguay, on Saturday Faithfuls wait for the Pope Leo XIV mass at the Paris Londres park, in Paysandu, Uruguay, on SaturdayLeo told the seminarians, priests and bishops to model themselves on Christ to attract the faithful.'One of the secrets of evangelization is to resemble the one whom we proclaim,' Leo said. 'In this land, where many of our contemporaries barely know Jesus Christ and so many young people have grown up far from the life of the Church, that witness has a special power.'Located in western Uruguay and just across a bridge from the eastern Argentine city of Colon, Paysandu was easier to reach for many Argentines than any of the stops on Leo's part of the tour in Argentina, his next stop after Uruguay.In Argentina, Leo will visit Buenos Aires, Lujan and Cordoba before heading to Peru, his second homeland and the final destination of his tour.'Argentina is a much more religious country than Uruguay, and there's this desire to be here to witness something historic,' said Luciana Lobato, 20, an Argentine tour agent who organised buses of 180 pilgrims from across the border.Some young Catholics involved in local church groups hoped the sight of a pope drawing crowds would challenge Uruguay's image as a country indifferent to religion.'The reality I see in my town is that there are tons of young people who are really interested in religion, who are trying to find meaning and community in difficult moments,' said Teresa Sabellini, 18, from Paysandu. Pope Leo XIV, flanked by Vatican Master of Pontifical Ceremonies Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, right, presides over Mass beneath a large portrait of Blessed Jacinto Vera, the first bishop of Montevideo, in Uruguay on Saturday A woman holds a flag with the image of Pope Leo XIV ahead of his mass at the Paris Londres park, in Paysandu, Uruguay, on Saturday Worshippers prayed while following Pope Leo XIV's mass in Uruguay on Saturday'And now look around here. This place is full of people,' she added.Still, Paysandu itself greeted the pope quietly, as though it were an ordinary weekend, with scant decorations and only a few homes seen flying Vatican flags.Saturday's Mass is dedicated to Blessed Jacinto Vera, a 19th-century priest who became Uruguay's first bishop. Leo praised him on Friday as a pastor who travelled the country's roads to help the poor, saying that people who met him 'found something of Christ's goodness' even before he preached.Some younger attendees on Saturday said Leo's humane tone and emphasis on care for the vulnerable resonated beyond the faithful in their secular country as people grapple with a turbulent world.'I wouldn't call myself religious, but I like this pope. He has a really good message for humanity,' said Santiago Biglieri, 18, a Colombian who lives in Uruguay. 'Even for the nonbelievers, there's something to take from his ideas.'