As part of their ad Limina Apostolorum visit (14-19 September), the Pope received in audience in the Apostolic Palace the Bishops of Uruguay, who in previous days had met with the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia. The bishops handed the Pontiff a two-volume document containing the voices of people from different parts of Uruguay, in preparation for the November apostolic journey. Cardinal Daniel Sturla and Bishop Milton Tróccoli discussed with the Pope the theme of secularism — stressing that "religion, by definition, is something public" —, the defence of life "from conception to natural death," the growing impact of drug trafficking in the region, and thanked Leo XIV for his work as a "messenger of peace." The meeting comes just weeks before Pope Leo XIV's apostolic journey to Uruguay, scheduled for 6-8 November in Florida, Paysandú and Montevideo, the first leg of his trip to Latin America.