Pope Leo XIV left Rome on Friday for a 12-day visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, in what will be one of the most demanding overseas tours taken by a Catholic leader in decades. The 71 year old pontiff, who underwent lung cancer surgery last month, departed from Rome Fiumicino airport early on Friday morning and is due to arrive in Uruguay at 4.30 p.m. The trip, which runs from November 6 to 17, will take him across 10 cities, with 36 speeches, around 50 events, and 14 flights, including two in a helicopter, covering some 31,000 kilometres.
Why it matters
The Vatican said this week that the pope had completely healed from his operation and that no special precautions were being taken for the tour. Leo had surgery on October 13 to remove a third of his right lung after a small growth was discovered during routine checks, which was later confirmed as lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. Just over three weeks ago, the trip looked to be in doubt, and some in the Vatican believed it would be postponed or its intense schedule adjusted. Leo has decided to go ahead as planned, and the Vatican description of him as enthusiastic and clinically fit is a measure of his determination.
The tour is a homecoming in the fullest sense. Leo is the first United States born pope, but he spent decades in Peru as a missionary and bishop, became a Peruvian citizen, and considers the tour a return to places where he spent a long time and to which he feels closely connected. He will spend three days in Uruguay, three days in Argentina, and six days in Peru, visiting Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa. In Chiclayo he will celebrate Mass at the Pampas de Pimentel, a desert plain where as many as 1.5 million people are expected to gather.
What happens next
The itinerary carries both symbolism and physical risk. In Argentina, where he arrives on November 8, he will meet President Javier Milei, and it will be the first time a pope has visited the country in 39 years, the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited as pope. In Peru he will visit Cusco, which is more than 11,000 feet above sea level and where there is 35 percent less oxygen per breath, a demanding stop for a man three weeks removed from lung surgery. Uruguay, Latin America most secular country, has mobilised some 5,000 police officers and 1,000 soldiers for the visit.
What happens next will be measured in crowds and in stamina. The tour is expected to attract millions strong crowds, and the images from Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Lima will define the first year of Leo pontificate as surely as any document he issues. If he completes the 12 days in good health, the trip will stand as a statement of vigour and of purpose, and as a homecoming that honoured both his past and his office. If the schedule proves too much, the Vatican will face questions about whether the ambition outran the recovery. For now, the pope is in the air, and Latin America is waiting.
