Pope Leo XIV left Rome early on Friday for a 12-day tour of Latin America — the longest and farthest journey of his pontificate, and one he is making just three weeks after surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung.
The 71-year-old pontiff, the first pope born in the United States, departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport in the morning and was due to arrive in Uruguay at 4:30pm local time (19:30 GMT), Reuters reported. Over the next 12 days he will visit three countries — Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — travelling some 31,000 kilometres (19,300 miles) across 10 cities and delivering 36 speeches, according to the Vatican. The trip runs from 6 to 17 November.
It is a journey heavy with personal meaning. Leo is returning to Peru, where the former Robert Prevost lived for two decades as a missionary priest. He is also going to Argentina, the home of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never returned there during his 13-year pontificate. And he begins in Uruguay, the least Catholic and most secular country in Latin America.
A trip confirmed days after surgery
Many eyes will be on Leo himself for having confirmed such a gruelling trip at all so soon after surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung. Surgeons removed the growth along with the lower lobe of his right lung, and doctors later confirmed the cancer — lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer — had not spread and required no further treatment.
The Vatican said no special or additional provisions were planned for the trip, including when the 71-year-old travels to Cusco, Peru, at an altitude of 3,400 metres (11,200 feet). "We're not talking of a permanent condition," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. "We're talking about something that you heal from, because it is surgery."
Medical experts told Reuters that the decision by Leo's doctors to clear him to fly indicated the risk of complications was low — the operated lung had fully expanded and the surgical wounds were healing without signs of infection. They suggested, however, that he might need rest breaks to cope with the intense itinerary and might consider supplemental oxygen as needed, especially at altitude.
The scale of the trip is formidable even for a healthy pope: a dozen flights and two helicopter rides covering 31,000 kilometres, 36 speeches in 10 cities, and outdoor Masses, prison visits and meetings with political leaders packed into 12 days.
Uruguay first: the most secular country in the region
Leo begins in Uruguay, where he will stay until Sunday, visiting three cities. He will ride along Montevideo's waterfront in a popemobile before meeting left-wing President Yamandu Orsi, and a tight security operation is in place, with some 5,000 police officers and 1,000 soldiers mobilised, according to AFP.
Uruguay is an unusual first stop for a pope. It is the least Catholic country in Latin America: Christmas there is officially "Family Day" and Holy Week is "Tourism Week". It was the first country in the world to legalise marijuana for recreational use and recently became the first in the region to approve assisted-dying legislation over the Catholic Church's strong opposition. Only about a third of its 3.5 million people identify as Catholic.
Asked why Leo would spend three days of a 12-day trip in such a country, the Vatican's new communications chief, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, had a ready reply: "Why not?" Leo is expected to make clear church teaching on abortion and euthanasia, but also to recall Uruguay's strong Catholic roots from the Spanish colonial era — most significantly on Sunday, when he marks a Catholic feast day connected to Uruguay's 1825 declaration of independence. His message to today's religious "nones", Alvarado said, is: "Reconsider."
Argentina: filling the void Francis left
From Sunday, Leo spends three days in Argentina, the homeland of Pope Francis — and the most politically delicate leg of the trip. Francis never returned home after his election in 2013, and a pope has not visited Argentina or Uruguay since the late 1980s. "How many times, I and other people asked him," confided Guzmán Carriquiry, a close friend of Francis at the Vatican. "But it was useless, useless!" Carriquiry said Leo was coming to Argentina to "fill a void that has remained". Argentine officials have said some 7 million people will attend events with Leo.
Leo will give an address to Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday. Milei, a self-described "anarcho-capitalist", once described Francis as a "filthy leftist" and a "representative of evil on Earth", and he lambasted Leo earlier this year after the pope criticised the Iran war. Leo will also visit a prison in Argentina during the trip.
A homecoming to Peru
No leg of the trip is more anticipated than the final stop in Peru, where Leo will spend six days after arriving on Wednesday. He will arrive first in Lima, then travel to Chiclayo, his beloved former diocese, which he headed from 2015 to 2023, when Francis summoned him to Rome. He was ordained bishop there in 2014.
Leo, who was born in Chicago, spent almost two decades in Peru as a missionary and became a Peruvian citizen; he is so attached to the country's people that he gave them a shoutout in Spanish from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on the night of his election. "He is so excited. He personally confirmed this trip with no changes," Alvarado said. His itinerary includes a Mass in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, at more than 3,000 metres above sea level, a visit to Pucallpa in the Amazon region, and trips by helicopter to remote Andean communities.
What the trip is meant to say
Leo is expected to raise issues of concern to his still-young pontificate throughout the trip: economic injustice, the plight of Indigenous peoples and the Amazon, and the church's legacy of clergy sexual abuse. He will hold several meetings with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy during the trip, the Vatican has said.
His speeches to the governments in each country will be closely watched. Bruni said they would address environmental destruction, arms trafficking and regional political instability. Speaking to pilgrims at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Leo said that during the trip he was hoping to "strengthen the faith, renew hope, and rekindle the fire of charity".
"The pope brings a message of communion and unity, an invitation to recognise one another … as members of one same family."
— Matteo Bruni, Vatican spokesman
The stakes for the church are real. Latin America has long been the world's largest Catholic region in absolute numbers, but the church has been losing ground to fast-growing evangelical denominations. Local Catholic leaders hope Leo's visit can re-energise the faith and help repair the church's standing after abuse scandals tarnished its reputation.
The itinerary at a glance
| Dates | Country | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 6–8 November | Uruguay | Three cities, including Montevideo; popemobile along the waterfront; meeting with President Yamandu Orsi; Sunday feast-day Mass |
| 8–11 November | Argentina | Three days; address to President Javier Milei; prison visit; events expected to draw some 7 million people |
| 11–17 November | Peru | Six days; Lima, then Chiclayo, his former diocese; Mass in Cusco at 3,400 metres; Pucallpa in the Amazon; helicopter trips to remote Andean communities |
Frequently asked questions
Why is this trip significant?
It is the longest and farthest trip of Leo's pontificate, and it carries unusual personal weight: a homecoming to Peru, where he spent two decades as a missionary and bishop, and a first papal visit to Argentina since the late 1980s — a country his predecessor, Francis, never returned to. It is also his first major journey since lung cancer surgery.
How soon after surgery is he travelling?
Three weeks. Leo had surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour and the lower lobe of his right lung. His doctors said the cancer was localised, required no further treatment, and that he had fully healed; the Vatican said no special medical measures were needed beyond the standard care on papal trips.
Why start in Uruguay, the region's most secular country?
Uruguay is the least Catholic country in Latin America, with only about a third of its people identifying as Catholic. The Vatican's answer, via communications chief Maria Montserrat Alvarado, was "Why not?" — Leo is expected to speak to nonbelievers as well as the faithful, recalling Uruguay's Catholic roots while making clear church teaching on abortion and euthanasia.
What will he do in Peru?
He arrives in Lima on Wednesday, then travels to Chiclayo, the diocese he led from 2015 to 2023. He will celebrate Mass in Cusco at 3,400 metres, visit Pucallpa in the Amazon, and travel by helicopter to remote Andean communities. The Peru leg is the longest of the three, at six days.
Key takeaways
- Pope Leo XIV departed Rome on Friday, 6 November, for a 12-day, three-nation tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — the longest trip of his pontificate.
- He is travelling just three weeks after surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous lung tumour; his doctors say he has fully healed and needs no further treatment.
- The trip is a double homecoming: to Peru, where he lived for two decades as a missionary and bishop, and to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor Francis, who never returned.
- He will cover 31,000 kilometres and 10 cities, deliver 36 speeches, meet President Milei and President Orsi, visit a prison, and meet survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
- His message, in his own words from Wednesday's audience, is to "strengthen the faith, renew hope, and rekindle the fire of charity".
What to watch next
Leo's arrival in Montevideo on Friday afternoon will set the tone: the crowds he draws in Latin America's most secular country, and the message he delivers there, will be read as a measure of his standing. Sunday's address to President Milei in Argentina will be the most politically charged moment of the trip. The emotional peak comes on Wednesday, when he arrives in Peru and returns to Chiclayo — and the physical test comes in Cusco, at 3,400 metres, three weeks after lung surgery. The trip ends on 17 November.
