Pope Leo urged South American countries on Friday to tackle regional issues together as he began a three-country, 12-day trip expected to draw millions across a Catholic stronghold facing sharp political divisions.
The pontiff arrived in Uruguay, one of Latin America's more stable democracies, for the first stop of a tour that will also take him to Argentina and Peru, in one of the most demanding overseas trips by a Catholic leader in decades.
Leo was greeted by President Yamandu Orsi and two children bearing flowers after landing at Montevideo's Carrasco airport under partly cloudy skies. Later, addressing crowds the Vatican estimated numbered at least 30,000 people in Independence Square, he urged governments in South America to set an example for international cooperation.
"In an age when differences can easily become a source of conflict, persevering in respect for the law, negotiation and the patient search for agreements is a service that Uruguay can continue to offer its neighbors," said Leo, who will visit three cities in Uruguay.
Leo, who is 71 and underwent lung cancer surgery last month, will take part in dozens of events across the three countries. The Vatican said this week the pope had completely healed from his operation and no special precautions were being taken for the tour, on which Leo will travel 31,000 km (19,300 miles) across 10 cities and give 36 speeches.
The pope, who was born in Chicago but spent decades in Peru, considers the tour a "homecoming to places where he spent a long time and to which he feels closely connected," said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni.
AI WARNING
Leo gave his first address outdoors in blustery conditions, which earlier blew his white skullcap off his head as he toured the crowds in a popemobile. The pope, fresh off a 14-hour flight from Rome, spoke in a firm, clear voice for 24 minutes.
He called for a global economy that serves everyone, not just the world's richest, and renewed his warnings about the rapid development of AI, saying new technologies must not reduce workers "to a mere expendable cog in the production process."
People from across Latin America waved flags from their countries in Montevideo's main square, where vendors sold key rings and other merchandise bearing images of the pope alongside Uruguay's blue and white colours.
Pamela Gonzalez, 37, a lawyer who came with her mother and planned to attend Saturday's Mass, said Leo's visit carried particular weight in deeply secular Uruguay.
"He's an important political figure globally," she said. "It made me emotional that he's coming to a very secular country like Uruguay. It is important we are tolerant of everyone even if you don't practice the faith."
Leo told journalists on his flight that he wished to share "God's message of peace (and) goodwill for all people" during the trip.
He also said he had voted by mail in the US midterm elections because he is proud to be a US citizen.
POPE VISITS AMID REGIONAL INSTABILITY
Leo, who has decried the direction of global leadership in recent months, will address governments in each of the three countries. He will also lead outdoor Masses at major local sites, visit a prison in Argentina and head to remote Andean communities in Peru by helicopter.