Pope Leo XIV will visit Cusco, Peru, which sits more than 11,000 feet above sea level, just weeks after surgery to remove part of his right lung, in the most demanding physical test of a 12 day tour that is already one of the most intense papal trips in recent years. Cusco sits at an altitude where there is 35 percent less oxygen per breath, and the visit, on November 15, has raised questions about his health and the precautions being taken while there. The pope is 71, and he underwent lung cancer surgery barely three weeks before the trip began.
Why it matters
The surgery is the reason the question is being asked at all. Last month, Leo underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, after a small growth discovered during routine checks was confirmed as cancer. His surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said afterward that there were no clinical reasons why this visit should not take place, and Vatican officials said he completed his two week recovery period and requires no further treatment. Officials added that no changes have been made to the programme, and that the surgery left him with no permanent condition.
The medical advice from outside the Vatican is more cautious. Dr. Matthew Triplette, a pulmonologist from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, was among the specialists asked about the trip, and the altitude at Cusco is the central concern, because the air there carries about a third less oxygen than at sea level, and a person with reduced lung capacity will feel the difference more sharply. The pope will have a medical team available to him for the trip, but Vatican officials stressed that no special measures are being taken, and that the programme has not been adjusted. The confidence is public, and it is total.
What happens next
The itinerary does not make allowances. Over 12 days, from November 6 to 17, Leo will take 12 flights, including two helicopter rides, give 36 speeches, take part in around 50 events, and visit 10 cities, covering about 19,000 miles. He will fly to Cusco on November 15, landing at one of the highest altitude airports in the world, and he will visit the Inca site of Saqsaywaman near the city. He will also head to remote Andean communities by helicopter, and he will travel to the Amazon. It is a schedule that would test a healthy man half his age, and it has not been shortened by a day.
What happens next will be watched by doctors as well as by the faithful. If Leo completes the Cusco visit without difficulty, the trip will be remembered as a triumph of will over illness, and the questions about his health will fade. If he struggles, the Vatican will face questions about why the programme was not adjusted, and why a 71 year old man three weeks out of lung surgery was sent to 11,000 feet. For now, the pope has made his choice, and it is the same choice he made when he refused to postpone the trip at all: to go, and to trust that the body will follow the spirit.
