Pope Leo XIV opened a 12-day tour of South America in Uruguay on Friday, just three weeks after surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, telling reporters aboard the papal plane that he was "in fairly good shape" and had never doubted the trip would go ahead.
The 71-year-old pontiff arrived in Montevideo after a 13-and-a-half-hour flight from Rome and was welcomed by President Yamandú Orsi at the Plaza Independencia, where he received the keys to the city and addressed Uruguayan authorities. It is the first visit to Uruguay by a pope in nearly four decades — the last was St John Paul II in 1988 — and the opening leg of the longest and most distant journey of Leo's pontificate so far.
"I confess that from the first day, I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward," Leo told reporters on the flight, according to the Associated Press. Asked whether he felt as good as he looked, he quipped: "Maybe better."
Thousands of people, some waving yellow-and-white Vatican flags, lined Montevideo's seafront to greet him as he rode through the capital in an open-sided popemobile. The Vatican estimated that 30,000 people had turned out to watch him pass and attend his first event in the city, the Associated Press reported.
A demanding schedule, three weeks after surgery
The tour is Leo's sixth international trip since his election, and by far the most physically demanding. He underwent surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, and he acknowledged on the flight that "some people" had doubted whether he could make the gruelling 12-day journey at all.
He credited his quick recovery to "trusting God, good doctors, good surgeons, and overall I think a healthy lifestyle," the Associated Press reported. He also offered advice to others facing a cancer diagnosis: "not to be afraid."
Despite the long flight, Leo kept a full first day. After the formal welcome and his address to the authorities, he visited the Cabildo and the cathedral in Montevideo's old town, then presided over an evening vespers service with bishops, clergy and religious at the Metropolitan Cathedral that ended at 9 p.m. local time, according to the Associated Press and Vatican News.
On Saturday, the pace continues. The pope flies to Paysandú, a city in western Uruguay near the Argentine border, to celebrate Mass in a park, where 30,000 pilgrims are expected, Agence France-Presse reported. He then returns to Montevideo to visit Casavalle, the neighbourhood with the highest homicide rate in the capital, meet the education community at the Catholic University of Uruguay, and preside over a prayer vigil at the Centenario Stadium, where 60,000 people are expected.
On Sunday he will celebrate Mass in Florida, before the shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, Uruguay's patron saint, and then travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina — the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never returned to visit during his papacy.
Uruguay: the most secular stop on the tour
Uruguay is, by several measures, the most secular country in Latin America — a region that is home to around 40 percent of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, according to the Associated Press. Only a fraction of Uruguayans who identify as Catholic attend Mass regularly. Since the 19th century, when liberal reformers drove through the separation of church and state, the country has become the first in the world to legalise recreational marijuana, the second in Latin America to decriminalise abortion, and the third in the Americas to legalise same-sex marriage. In 2025 it became the first country in the region to approve assisted dying, over the strong opposition of the Catholic Church.
Leo did not shy away from those differences. In his address to the authorities, delivered in Spanish, he praised Uruguay's development, its regional integration through Mercosur and its care for the environment — AFP noted his praise for the small country's "remarkable" achievement in greening an economy that runs mainly on renewables. But he also defended life "even that which is still growing in the mother's womb" and questioned euthanasia, in a country where both are legal.
"It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that each person can live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life." — Pope Leo XIV, addressing Uruguayan authorities in Montevideo
He also lamented Uruguay's high suicide rates, which are among the highest in the world, and appealed for healthcare to be "accessible to everyone." His own experience, he said, had made him think of "the many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis" or receive treatment, AFP reported.
Why Uruguay first? The choice surprised some Uruguayans — one woman waiting by the river told the Associated Press: "We still don't understand why he chose Uruguay, given that it's a secular country, but we hope he leaves something positive behind." The Vatican's answer is implicit in the itinerary: the tour is a homecoming to the continent that shaped Leo's priesthood, and Uruguay is where it begins.
The road ahead: Argentina, then Peru
After Uruguay, Leo travels to Argentina from 8 to 11 November, and then to Peru — the highlight of the tour, and the country where he spent nearly two decades as a missionary and bishop. He has referred to Peru as "one of my many homes," AFP reported.
Peru has been gripped by what AFP called "pope fever" in the run-up to his arrival, and the itinerary also takes him to the former Inca capital of Cusco and the Amazon rainforest, with a supper among priests from his old diocese of Chiclayo and a private visit to a chapel he helped rebuild.
Leo is the Catholic Church's first US-born pope, and a Peruvian citizen. His election created a double homecoming of sorts: history's first Latin American pope, Francis, never returned to his homeland, while Leo — who carries forward that legacy — now returns to the region that formed him. The trip is also seen as a homecoming in another sense: Leo told reporters he had voted by mail in this week's US midterm elections, making him the first pope known to have voted in a political election. "I'm proud to be an American and to exercise the right" to vote, he said, according to AFP.
| Leg | Dates | Key moments |
|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 6–8 November | Montevideo welcome and vespers; Mass in Paysandú; Casavalle visit; vigil at Centenario Stadium; Mass in Florida |
| Argentina | 8–11 November | Buenos Aires — the homeland of Pope Francis |
| Peru | 11–17 November | Lima, Callao, Cusco and the Amazon; reunion with his former diocese of Chiclayo |
Frequently asked questions
Why is this tour significant? It is Leo's first visit to Latin America as pope and the longest and farthest journey of his pontificate — undertaken just three weeks after major surgery — and it returns him to Peru, where he spent nearly two decades as a missionary and bishop.
When was the last papal visit to Uruguay? The last pope to visit Uruguay was St John Paul II in 1988, nearly four decades ago.
What did the pope say about his health? He told reporters he was "in fairly good shape" after surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, and said he had never doubted the trip would go ahead.
What happens next on the tour? After Mass in Paysandú and the Centenario Stadium vigil on Saturday, Leo celebrates Mass in Florida on Sunday before travelling to Argentina, then on to Peru, where the tour ends on 17 November, according to the Vatican's published itinerary.
Did the pope address Uruguay's secular laws? Yes, gently. He defended the protection of the unborn and questioned euthanasia, which Uruguay legalised in 2025, while also praising the country's development, environmental record and regional cooperation through Mercosur.
Key takeaways
- Pope Leo XIV began a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on Friday — his first visit to Latin America as pope and the longest trip of his pontificate.
- He made the journey three weeks after surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, saying he was "in fairly good shape" and had never doubted the trip would go ahead.
- It is the first papal visit to Uruguay since John Paul II in 1988; around 30,000 people turned out in Montevideo on Friday, according to the Vatican.
- On Saturday he celebrates Mass in Paysandú and leads a prayer vigil at Montevideo's Centenario Stadium, before travelling to Argentina on Sunday and then to Peru, the country he calls "one of my many homes."
- In his address to Uruguayan authorities he praised the country's development and environmental record while defending the protection of the unborn and questioning euthanasia.
What to watch next
The tour's centre of gravity now shifts to Saturday's Mass in Paysandú and the evening vigil at the Centenario Stadium, where 60,000 people are expected — the largest single gathering of the Uruguay leg. On Sunday, attention turns to Argentina, where Leo's visit will inevitably be read against his predecessor's: Francis, the first Latin American pope, never returned to his homeland during his papacy. The Peru leg, from 11 November, is the emotional heart of the trip — a return to the country where Leo spent two decades as a missionary and bishop — and the Vatican's published itinerary runs until 17 November.
