From November 6 to 8, Pope Leo XIV set foot on Uruguayan soil during the first part of his apostolic journey through South America. Thirty-eight years after St. John Paul II’s last visit, the Successor of Peter chose to begin his tour of our country with a motto that resonated in every corner: “I bring you good news of great joy” (Lk 2:10).
For our Schoenstatt Family in Uruguay, these days were a true Pentecost, during which we experienced firsthand the Holy Spirit’s impulse renewing our hearts. Adding to that celebration was the special joy of opening our home to welcome the Schoenstatt Family from Brazil, with whom we shared this historic moment with the Holy Father.
A Pope who knows his People
From his very first address in Plaza Independencia, before some 30,000 people, Pope Leo XIV surprised us all with his deep understanding of Uruguayan identity. Gazing at the monument to Artigas and the friezes of La Redota, he spoke to us of fraternal care and the mutual responsibility that allows us to walk together across generations and ways of thinking.
His message went straight to the heart of our social wounds. He called for the protection of life from the womb until its natural end, asking for special community solidarity and healthcare in the face of the painful scourge of suicide and loneliness.
Schoenstatt’s consecrated members at the meeting with the Pope
On Friday afternoon, the Pope presided over Vespers alongside bishops, priests, deacons, religious, consecrated persons, and seminarians. After pausing at the tomb of Blessed Jacinto Vera, Leo XIV recalled that the human heart always takes the shape of what it loves, inviting the consecrated to return again and again to intimacy with Jesus so as not to become trapped in worry or in the desire to have everything under control.
As the Shepherd of the Church, the Pope expressed gratitude for the quiet dedication of so many consecrated men and women—exclaiming, “How beautiful are the hands that have grown old doing good!”—and distilled the secret of all evangelization into a direct invitation: “to become like the One we proclaim.”
Sr. M. Daiane Freisleben, a member of the group of pilgrims from Brazil, participated in this meeting and commented: “To be with the Pope is to be with the Church; it is to renew our faith; it is to renew the joy of being with Christ, of giving our lives for Christ. That is why this is also a very special gift we can receive. This prayer for vocations is an act of surrender so that God may awaken in the hearts of young people the desire to dedicate themselves to consecrated and religious life. We can return to Brazil with that zeal in our hearts and dedicate ourselves more specifically to vocations.”
A Family Moment
On Saturday morning, we held our family gathering at the Church of Lourdes, where we celebrated a Holy Mass as the Schoenstatt Family, presided over by Fr. Maike Andrade from Brazil and concelebrated by our moderator, Fr. Matías Clavijo. During that Eucharist, we renewed our Covenant of Love and reaffirmed our commitment to serving the Uruguayan Church.
For the Schoenstatt Family, one of the most profound moments of the papal visit occurred during the vigil at the Centenario Stadium. Speaking to the Uruguayan Church, which at times feels like a minority in a secularized society, Leo XIV recalled the prophecy about Bethlehem of Judah—the smallest among the clans of Judah—to remind us that, in God’s eyes, “smallness does not mean insignificance.” What transforms reality is not numerical strength or power but God’s free choice to dwell among the humble so His light may radiate. He also challenged young people and families not to settle for a faith based on habit: “Be saints! Don’t give God just a part of yourselves—give yourselves completely!”
As they listened to the Holy Father, the hearts of all Schoenstatters immediately turned back to October 18, 1914. In that humble little chapel in the Schoenstatt Valley, Father Joseph Kentenich spoke the prophetic words in the Founding Document that take on new meaning today: “How many times in world history has the small and insignificant been the origin of the great, of the greatest! Why couldn’t the same thing happen to us as well?”
This law of smallness is part of the deepest history of our Uruguayan Family. On October 18, 1943, while the Father and Founder was imprisoned in Dachau, a handful of young Sisters of Mary erected and blessed the world’s first Daughter Shrine in Nueva Helvecia. That small replica in the eastern lands was the “Bethlehem” that opened the doors for Schoenstatt to spread across the five continents, giving rise to the Movement’s international dimension. Today, the Pope confirms that our Uruguayan smallness continues to be God’s favorite instrument for bringing forth the greatest things.
Youth is renewed in its missionary zeal
This visit held very special meaning for Schoenstatt’s youth. In a cultural environment where it is often difficult to swim against the current and maintain one’s faith at university, at work, or among friends, the Pope’s words confirmed their missionary vocation. Seeing the stands packed with people, singing and jumping alongside thousands of young people from across the country, showed them that they are not alone, renewing their zeal to be that “founding generation” that carries the fire of the Shrine to every corner.
That faith, turned into mission, was lived out in a very concrete way in the stands of the Centenario Stadium, where our youth brought some of the children from the Aquiles Lanza neighborhood—the site of the “Peregrinos” apostolate, a Schoenstatt initiative created to evangelize and accompany Uruguay’s poorest neighborhoods. Seeing their faces light up during the vigil brought to life what the Holy Father had asked of us just hours earlier as he walked through Casavalle: not to pass by those who suffer the most and to remember that the heart of Christ beats in the humblest of homes.
Days that will remain deep in our memories as a gift from heaven
God’s visit in the person of the Pope was a historic event in Uruguay. This is how Valentina Mauro, from the Diocese of Durazno-Florida, experienced it. She had the privilege and the gift of bringing the offerings to the altar during the closing Mass at Florida Cathedral on November 8:
“That the Pope chose to visit Uruguay as the first country on his tour—even though it is a small, secular country—is a true gift from heaven and from the Virgin Mary, who accompanied us that day. I think the Holy Father left very surprised and happy after seeing the joy, the singing, and the large number of young people who turned out. I experienced these days as ‘grace upon grace’; I’m sure that more than one person who came because of this historic event returned home with the Christ enthusiasm”.
For Valentina, the Pope’s message leaves a clear guiding principle for daily life:
“He invited us to step out of our bubble, look around us, and go door to door proclaiming Christ and a Church that is a mother and a home for everyone. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and give it our all for Christ—with a smile, a hug, and attentiveness to the needs of others.”
These three days will be cherished as a true gift from heaven. The Pope passed through our land, looked us in the eyes, and reminded us that our smallness is fertile ground for the Gospel. Now it is up to us to keep that flame burning. Hand in hand with our Blessed Mother, we go out to meet others so that it may be evident—in our families, our work, and our daily lives—that we have been in Bethlehem.
