Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on Friday, beginning a 12-day tour of Latin America that will take him through three countries — his first visit to the region as pontiff, and the longest and most demanding journey of his papacy so far, undertaken less than a month after surgery for lung cancer.
The 71-year-old pope landed at Montevideo’s Carrasco International Airport after a nearly 14-hour flight from Rome. President Yamandú Orsi was waiting on the tarmac, along with two children bearing flowers, as bells pealed at parishes and churches across the country. Under cloudy, windy skies, throngs of people lined his motorcade route along Montevideo’s waterfront, cheering as his open-sided popemobile brought him into town for his first events.
Later, addressing crowds the Vatican estimated at at least 30,000 people in the capital’s Independence Square, Leo urged South American countries to tackle the region’s problems together — and held up his host as an example.
“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 neighbours.”
It is the first papal visit to Uruguay in nearly four decades — Pope John Paul II last came in 1988 — and the first to Argentina since 1987. Leo, born in Chicago as Robert Prevost and the first pope from the United States, spent two decades in Peru as a missionary and bishop and holds Peruvian citizenship. The Vatican has described the journey as a homecoming.
A welcome in the region’s most secular country
Uruguay is an unlikely opening stop for a papal tour. Latin America is home to around 40% of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, according to the Associated Press, but Uruguay is considered the most secular country in the region, and only a fraction of those who identify as Catholic attend Mass regularly. The country of 3.5 million people was the first in the world to legalise marijuana for recreational use and the first in the region to approve assisted-dying legislation, despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church.
Yet the welcome was warm. “I am very happy, and I am certain that his visit will bring us much good fortune and many blessings,” 75-year-old retiree Marie Hernández told the Associated Press as crowds gathered. “We are a secular country, and it is truly beautiful to see the unity among all religions, whether Catholic or otherwise.”
Uruguayan church officials have marvelled at the enthusiasm: tickets for Leo’s prayer vigil at Montevideo’s Centenario Stadium were snapped up within two days, and tickets for Masses in Paysandú and Florida also sold out quickly.
Not everyone expects the crowds to fill the pews. Andrew Chesnut, a professor of Catholic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the Associated Press he was unsurprised by the warm welcome — but added: “That’s not necessarily going to translate into folks in the pews.”
Three weeks after surgery
The trip had been in doubt until recently. On 13 October, surgeons removed the lower lobe of Leo’s right lung in an operation for localised lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. His doctors said the disease was localised and that he would not need further treatment — and the Vatican said this week that he had completely healed, with no special precautions being taken for the tour.
Leo told journalists aboard his flight to Montevideo that he feels “in fairly good shape” and that he never doubted he would go ahead with the trip. María Montserrat Alvarado, the Vatican’s new communications chief, told the Associated Press: “His stamina is fantastic. The way that he’s singing is incredible. And you can only sing if your lungs are really strong.”
Three countries in 12 days
Over the next 12 days Leo will travel some 31,000 kilometres (19,300 miles) across 10 cities and give 36 speeches, on 14 flights — one of the most demanding overseas tours by a Catholic leader in decades. The itinerary:
| Leg | Dates | Where he goes |
|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 6–8 November | Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida, including a visit to a neighbourhood affected by gang violence and Masses in both cities |
| Argentina | 8–11 November | Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján; he meets President Javier Milei and visits a prison |
| Peru | 11–17 November | Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa, plus a helicopter trip to the Andean town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba |
Argentina carries its own symbolism. It is the homeland of the late Pope Francis, who never visited during his 12-year papacy. Leo arrives in Buenos Aires on Sunday and will meet President Javier Milei, who has refused to recognise the re-election of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — a dispute that has strained relations between the two neighbours. Argentine officials have said some 7 million people will attend events with Leo, though that is their expectation, not a count.
Peru, the final and longest leg, is the homecoming. Leo first arrived there as an Augustinian missionary in 1985 and served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. Outdoor Masses there are expected to draw millions.
A region in flux
Leo arrives in a South America facing sharp political divisions, and his speeches are expected to address them. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the pope’s addresses would take up issues including environmental destruction, arms trafficking and regional political instability. The backdrop is unsettled: Brazil’s politics have deepened in tension since Lula’s re-election last month, and Peru has cycled through eight presidents since 2016 amid impeachments, resignations and social unrest.
In his first address in Montevideo, Leo also called for a global economy that serves everyone, not just the world’s richest, and renewed his warnings about the rapid development of artificial intelligence, saying new technologies must not reduce workers “to a mere expendable cog in the production process.” The Vatican has said Leo will also hold several meetings with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy during the trip, without yet providing further details.
Crowd figures in this article are estimates, not counts: the 30,000 in Independence Square is the Vatican’s estimate, and the 7 million expected in Argentina is the Argentine government’s projection. Attendance at outdoor Masses later in the trip has not yet happened and cannot be reported as fact.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Pope Leo visiting Latin America now?
It is his first trip to the region since his election in May 2025, and the longest international journey of his pontificate. The 6–17 November tour covers Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — the continent where he spent two decades as a missionary and bishop.
Was the trip at risk after his surgery?
Yes — the 13 October operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung threw the tour into question. His doctors declared the cancer localised, said no further treatment was needed, and cleared him to fly; the Vatican says he has completely healed.
Why start in Uruguay, the region’s most secular country?
Uruguay has not hosted a pope since 1988, and Leo is expected to use the visit to propose the faith anew in a country where Catholic identity has faded.
What happens next on the tour?
After three days in Uruguay, Leo flies to Argentina on Sunday, where he meets President Javier Milei, then on to Peru on 11 November for the longest leg, including a return to Chiclayo, the diocese he led for eight years.
Key takeaways
- Pope Leo XIV arrived in Montevideo on Friday to begin a 12-day, three-country tour of Latin America — his first visit to the region as pontiff.
- At least 30,000 people, by the Vatican’s estimate, heard him urge South American countries to settle differences through law, negotiation and agreement.
- The trip comes 24 days after surgery for localised lung cancer; the Vatican says he has completely healed and he told reporters he feels “in fairly good shape”.
- Uruguay has not hosted a pope since 1988; Argentina has not since 1987, and Pope Francis never visited his homeland as pope.
- The tour ends in Peru, where Leo spent two decades as a missionary and bishop and holds citizenship — the homecoming at its heart.
What to watch next: Leo’s Mass in Paysandú on Saturday and the Florida pilgrimage on Sunday, his meeting with President Milei in Buenos Aires, and — once the tour reaches Peru — what he says about the region’s political divisions when he addresses governments in each of the three countries.
