- 16 minutes ago
Pope Leo XIV continued his apostolic journey in Uruguay with a key address to the educational community at the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU) in Montevideo. Welcomed by Rector Julio Fernández Tejera, the Supreme Pontiff highlighted the long-standing role of the Church in Uruguayan education since 1680. Join our full media coverage for key insights and highlights from this historic event.
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00:21We're going back to Uruguay life as we continue to cover the apostolic journey of
00:26Populio 14th to the South American nation. First up in this 12-day journey through Latin America,
00:33the Pope has just arrived to the Catholic University of Uruguay where he will hold
00:39meetings with the education sector. This is what's taking place right now that we're seeing live on
00:46our screen. The Pope here at the Catholic University of Uruguay is meeting the education community
00:54as education being one of the important sectors that the Pope has make reference throughout his
01:02pontificate in terms of the social structures that must be strengthened to the benefit of the people,
01:10especially in vulnerable societies. It's part of his casual itinerary that the Pope is taking in
01:19in this second day of his apostolic visit, as we were saying, emphasizing the importance of education,
01:26especially in young people, and the strengthening of academic institutions, the importance they have
01:31to build more inclusive societies. The Pope earlier we were seeing, we were covering a live that he
01:37visited a Baltimore Society in Casa Valle where he also held a heartfelt moment with the community there
01:44and expressed words and gave them his blessing and also highlighted the work that is being done there
01:50to help the people of this vulnerable community in the outskirts of Montevideo. Well, as the activities
01:58that remain today for the Pope here in Montevideo, Uruguay, after this meeting with the education sector,
02:07he will move to the Centenary Stadium for a visual, a prayer visual, where he will conclude
02:14this visit to Montevideo bringing together young people and members of the Catholic community,
02:19and this gathering will put particular emphasis on the transmission of faith to future generations
02:25and the importance of strengthening community bonds. These are the two remaining activities scheduled
02:31for the Pope today here in Montevideo. This meeting that we're seeing live right now with the education sector
02:39at the Catholic University of Uruguay, and later on this prayer visual at the iconic Centenario Stadium,
02:48Centenario Stadium in the capital of the country. Tomorrow he will continue with a mass in the morning
02:58and after this mass at Our Lady of the 33, the shrine of Our Lady of the 33, he will
03:05depart for Argentina
03:06as he continues his apostolic journey, Argentina being the second leg of his apostolic journey to Latin America.
03:15The Pope is going to now offer some words, prayers. Let's listen to what the Pope will say here
03:25at the Catholic University of Uruguay meeting the education community.
03:52I extend a special greeting to the professors and students who have come from so many educational institutions
03:58throughout the country.
04:17A little over 38 years ago, St. John Paul II visited this institution of higher learning, which at the time
04:25was just getting started.
04:27Today I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the educational work you have done and continue to do
04:34in the communities dedicated to formation and teaching at every level and stage of learning
04:40in service of the proclamation of the Gospel and the dignity of the human person.
04:49This perseverance demonstrates that Catholic education in Uruguay has become the concrete way in which the Gospel
04:56becomes an educational gesture, a relationship, a culture.
05:07It also affirms for us that the Gospel does not grow old, but makes all things new.
05:14Each generation hears it as a regenerating novelty.
05:17Each generation discovers its seminal and multiplying power.
05:26The goal of the pastoral mission in education is for students, teachers, and school administrators to hear,
05:33see, taste, touch, and smell the good news,
05:40allowing it to enlighten the senses, just as the vibrant murals on this university campus do.
05:52In this way, all who belong to the educational community can grow and recognize more fully their inalienable dignity as
06:02human persons.
06:05The same holds true in extracurricular and informal educational settings, as well as in educational communities and those focused on
06:13social reintegration and therapeutic care.
06:17In these contexts, the attentive presence and lived witness of credible, competent adults who collaborate with one another carry even
06:25greater weight than words.
06:31In light of the global reality we are experiencing, I believe that to achieve this goal, dualistic views must be
06:39overcome.
06:41The human being, though made of body and soul, is one.
06:46Reducing the body to an object to be disposed of arbitrarily is always a denial of the dignity of the
06:52person.
06:59I therefore invite you to take a brief journey through our five senses, and by reflecting on them, to rediscover
07:07the beauty of the gospel and the grandeur of our humanity.
07:16Let us begin by reflecting on the following verse from the Psalms.
07:21When I see the heavens, the psalmist leads us to one of the most sublime operations of our eyes, contemplation.
07:33Today, contemplation is understood as looking attentively, almost in wonder, at something spiritual or material.
07:43Contemplating creation and encountering God awaken in us, awakens in us an awareness of our place in his plan,
07:51and of our personal and collective responsibility to preserve the original harmony.
08:04We can also appreciate this in the twelve buildings on campus, which blend harmoniously into the surroundings of this neighborhood.
08:16Contemplation is a form of evangelization within the cognitive process of attention, which is becoming increasingly difficult.
08:25As progress is made in this regard, our children and young people attain the depth they long for,
08:32find spaces for silence and discernment, and become more accustomed to engaging in dialogue with their conscience and with God.
08:41I invite you, then, to give contemplation a prominent place in your educational work.
08:54Secondly, in saying the heavens, the work of your hands, the psalmist advances in contemplation to the point of seeing
09:02the hands of God,
09:03like those of an artist, creating the heavenly lights, the angels, and the living creatures that move in the firmament,
09:12on the earth and in the waters.
09:22Among all these beings, only humans will have fingers that, united with their hands, will cultivate the earth,
09:30bring forth fruit, greet their brothers and sisters, caress and embrace.
09:38Yet, we cannot forget that today, those human hands are producing the most terrible of human works.
09:45War.
09:50The Catholic education you are fostering is called to aid the educational community in recognizing the importance of touch,
09:58of fingers, and of hands in promoting peace.
10:05If our students can experience the baptismal embrace which the Father gave us when we were little ones,
10:12they will long for yet another embrace, that of the merciful Father who awaits us in glory.
10:22Helping our children and young people feel that they live in the midst of these two embraces is the difficult
10:28but beautiful task of those who preach the gospel.
10:33Those who feel embraced by the Father will inevitably become peacemakers.
10:37That of course, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Peter directs our attention to the sense of taste,
10:50when he says,
10:52You have tasted that the Lord is good.
10:55This sense evokes the notion of flavor, and with it, the wisdom that comes from experiencing,
11:06reflecting on and savoring.
11:09I am speaking of the wisdom that draws us closer to God's goodness,
11:13the wisdom that makes us brothers and sisters,
11:16the wisdom that makes us saints.
11:19Tasting is not limited to recognizing flavors, identifying foods, or classifying meals.
11:25In the same way, someone who gathers information without discernment, reflection and understanding of context,
11:33cannot be considered wise.
11:37It is therefore pressing that education in our schools and universities
11:41contribute to the judicious use of technologies and AI,
11:47placing the person before the algorithm and harmonizing technical, emotional, social, spiritual, and ecological intelligence.
12:01May our children and young people savor what is good and acceptable and perfect.
12:11To consider the sense of smell, we can turn to the story of the anointing at Bethany,
12:17as recounted by John the Evangelist.
12:20The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
12:25Saint Augustine reminds us that the world has been filled with good reputation,
12:29for a good reputation is a sweet fragrance.
12:40Today, however, people's reputations are under constant attack,
12:44to the point that discarding, rejecting, and belittling others
12:48have become a foul odor, to which our sense of smell has grown accustomed.
12:56Indeed, the process of dehumanization we are experiencing poses a challenge to our schools and universities.
13:03The paradox has become increasingly evident.
13:07While intelligence is attributed to computational systems,
13:11we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons,
13:17whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency,
13:23and when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded.
13:36It is essential that we defend the sweet fragrance of the human person,
13:41grounded in the sweet fragrance of the Messiah.
13:45We need to proclaim anew that human life must be respected at every stage and in every condition.
13:53No one is to be rejected.
13:59As we draw our reflection to a close, let us consider the sense of hearing
14:04by recalling the words of the evangelist, Matthew.
14:08Let us let anyone with ears listen.
14:14We conclude here with the hope that the reflections shared today at this institution of higher learning
14:19will be heard and subsequently heated in your educational establishments.
14:26Fine-tuning our hearing is important in today's world.
14:30Discerning what we hear makes all the difference.
14:36St. Augustine, grafting Biblical wisdom onto the Greco-Roman tradition, understood that the authentic teacher
14:43arouses the desire for truth, educates freedom to read the signs, and listen to the inner voice.
14:56Our Catholic education cannot be confined to a closed circle.
15:01Rather, it must learn to listen to families, civil society, political and administrative authorities,
15:10as well as representatives of the various economic sectors and professional groups.
15:20Today, our young children and young people listen when they participate in volunteer service, missionary activities, and community projects.
15:31Those who listen recognize others as a blessing, not as a threat.
15:37In sacred scripture, listening to the Lord is seen as an act of wisdom, prudence, and justice.
15:45Our educational initiatives must embody these three virtues,
15:50bearing in mind that generations are changing far more rapidly than in the past,
15:59and that keeping pace with the times without abandoning sound tradition is a real challenge.
16:06Dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to continue on your journey,
16:12evangelizing and contemplating the whole person, body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will.
16:22We must not stop.
16:25Let us continue walking with Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.
16:32Once again, I express my appreciation for the educational work you carry out,
16:36in trusting it to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a seat of wisdom,
16:42I cordially impart to you my apostolic blessing.
17:03Catholic University of Uruguay, as he continues his schedule on the second day of his apostolic journey to Latin America.
17:13As we were saying from here, the Pope will continue with one final stop for the day at the Centenario
17:19Stadium.
17:20He will hold a pressure visual with the thousands and thousands of people that will be gathered at this iconic
17:28stadium in the capital of Uruguay.
17:31And this is the activity, as they continue to unfold as the Pope continues to share messages of hope,
17:38of togetherness, of unity, of working together.
17:42And in this case, he had a message to the education community as a whole,
17:46educators from all different sectors and the key role that they play in forming the next generations.
17:53This is the information coming, as we were saying, from Montevideo, the Catholic University of Uruguay.
17:58And of course, we'll have more updates as we continue to cover these.
18:19The Pope is now receiving gifts from the people gathered here who are saying they are handing him over portraits
18:28and the likes.
18:28After he expressed a message of hope and encouragement to the education community, to the educational staff,
18:38and highlight the role that they play in forming the next generation, the youth,
18:44and the importance that must be placed for a complete development of that youth,
18:51and try to walk around the dangers of current trends and AI in education,
19:03try to keep algorithms separate from the formation of the human conscience,
19:10making sure that people must remember and must be taught that the body is not an individual,
19:18it's comprised of both body and soul, and must be careful and not sure.
19:26That's the message that the Pope delivered here today at the Catholic University of Uruguay,
19:34as his apostolic journey continues.
19:41I will now give a final prayer to conclude this ceremony.
19:51Now we join in praying the Our Father.
20:19Blessed be the name of the Lord.
20:21Blessed be the name of the Lord.
20:22Our help is in the name of the Lord.
20:27La bendición de Dios Todopoderoso, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo,
20:33descienda sobre ustedes. Amén.
20:44La bendición de Dios Todopoderoso, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo,
21:05en el momento del día, el popo va a viajar a la Centenario de Estadio,
21:11donde va a viajar con miles de gente y gente de todos los walks de vida de Uruguay
21:20para una visión de la iglesia, que va a viajar a esta ícona de Estadio.
21:31El popo va a viajar a la Universidad de Uruguay,
21:35de la Universidad de Uruguay, de la gente que está aquí.
21:40El popo va a viajar a la Universidad de Uruguay,
21:43de los profesores, de los profesores,
21:44no solo de la universidad, sino de todas las instituciones,
21:50principalmente de la capital y del país.
22:08Subtitulado
22:08Now it's exiting the building, as we're saying,
22:12we will now go to the Centenario of the Stadium
22:14for a private official, and that is the last activity,
22:18That will be the last activity of the day in this second day of his apostolic journey to Latin America.
22:25A journey that is heavy with the social awareness that is trying to be raised on the impact that wants
22:34to be made to improve
22:35and to highlight the challenges that societies are facing and in a way to give messages of hope and love
22:41for the encouragement
22:44to work together in Judaism to overcome those challenges.
22:49That's the recurring theme of the Pope's addresses throughout these two first days of his apostolic journey in Uruguay
22:58as we listened yesterday and today in the different moments calling on people to work together,
23:03to care for each other, to help each other, and to not abandon each other.
23:10We'll continue covering this apostolic journey, of course,
23:13so we'll be back in the moment that the Pope arrives to that centenary statement and offers his statements.
23:38What are you doing with the rest of the English for more?
23:53.