A parish in Uruguay struggling with violence prepares for Pope Leo XIV's visit

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Lucía Pintos is training to become a teacher in Borro, a Uruguayan neighborhood hit hard by the spread of drug trafficking, where a parish that will welcome Pope Leo XIV in a few days serves as a fragile but much-needed refuge from violence.

“It’s a painful reality, because the children have to go to school to have lunch or an afternoon snack,” the 21-year-old Pintos said. “You can’t let your child go out to play or do the shopping because there’s gunfire.”

Leo will visit the neighborhood on the north side of Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, at the start of his Nov. 6-17 tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, which he confirmed despite his recent cancer diagnosis. The pontiff will visit the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which builds homes, promotes job creation and supports addicts in their recovery.

Violence-plagued Catholic community prepares for Leo’s visit

Neighborhoods like Borro live with the sound of gunfire and territorial disputes between drug dealers. Concerns about violence have led the government to begin patrols with armored vehicles, which were originally donated by the United States for U.N. peacekeeping missions.

“Families know that at a certain time they have to go inside,” said Rev. Pablo Coimbra, the head of the Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. “When the shootings start, they throw themselves to the ground, because a stray bullet can hit anyone. It’s bursts of machine-gun fire, and the bullets land wherever they land.”

The Archbishop of Montevideo, Daniel Sturla, said that there is no other place in the South American country with such a strong Catholic presence as Borro. A day after receiving a Vatican delegation in preparation for Leo’s visit, he toured the neighborhood with The Associated Press.

According to an official count, of the 98 homicides registered up to September in Montevideo — 13.5% more than in the same period last year — more than 46% occurred in Borro and surrounding neighborhoods. Uruguay still has a low homicide rate for the region, with about 10 homicides per 100,000 people last year.

In October 2025, Interior Minister Carlos Negro said that Uruguay had “epidemic homicide rates” and vowed to reduce them.

Borro has poor housing and dirt roads

As the dirt roads descend toward a stream adjacent to Borro, mud becomes omnipresent. It often seeps into nearby houses.

That landscape is now cut by a concrete road prepared for the papal visit. The narrow streets converge on a soccer field restored by the parish, where Lautaro Martínez, a promising young player, practices. However, training has been suspended these days as a precaution following recent shootings.

In this context, the church has become a refuge. Neighbors bring the wounded there because ambulances will only go as far as the church. Coimbra said that gangs used to expel families at gunpoint to set up drug dens, forcing them to seek refuge in the parish.

To combat crime, the parish is leading social housing projects in which residents are building more than 100 units with sanitation systems — an effort that in turn generates local employment.

“The presence of the church makes the difference between drug use and nonuse, between continuing to study and not,” the priest said.

Escaping violence through faith

Many young people seeking to leave a life of crime find solace in faith. On Mondays, the parish celebrates a Mass for homeless people, drawing dozens from all over the city.

“They come for the bathroom and two meals, but mainly to be heard,” Coimbra said.

When Holy Communion is given, most remain with their arms crossed over their chests, a sign indicating they haven't been baptized. According to data from the Catholic Church, in 2025 only 2,200 of the 30,000 newborns in Uruguay were baptized.

Pablo Acosta, 28, was born in the neighborhood and got mixed up in crime. Today he spends his days between shelters and the streets, works informally in local markets, and sends money to his 10-year-old son, whom he doesn’t see because of his addictions.

“I have a gunshot wound in my stomach and stab wounds. I owed money, I was involved where I shouldn’t have been, but for the past month I’ve been trying to quit using drugs,” he said.

Extending a hand to those who have strayed down dark paths and preventing youth from taking that road, Coimbra said, is the church’s task.

“They have no other opportunities, no club, no English classes, no rugby, and in some cases, barely any soccer,” Coimbra said. “So there is a lot of idleness, and that’s where we need to intervene.”