With an ode to mate tea, Pope urges faithful to build bridges of fraternity and faith

PAYSANDÚ, Uruguay — Pope Leo XIV urged an estimated 40,000 people in Uruguay on Saturday to build bridges of fraternity and faith, as he used his first Mass in South America to deliver an ode to the region’s beloved mate tea and raise the profile of the Catholic Church in its most secular country.

The crowd erupted in the stadium chant of “Olé, olé, olé, olé, Pope, Pope!” when Leo’s plane landed in Paysandú, 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 Paysandú.

More than 30,000 people — many from Uruguay but also from neighboring Argentina and Brazil — had registered in advance to attend the service, around 230 miles from the capital, Montevideo. The Vatican said Saturday another 10,000 had shown up beyond that, despite the morning rain and blustery, gray skies.

Because of its accessible location on the Uruguay River, the city was chosen to host Leo’s first Mass at the start of his three-nation South American tour that was in doubt after he…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world