Pope Leo XIV’s itinerary includes Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Pope Leo XIV will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru during a 12-day tour, with the Vatican confirming his schedule remains unchanged.
Pope Leo XIV is beginning a 12-day Latin America trip, three weeks after surgery for lung cancer. The journey takes him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he spent almost 20 years serving the Church.
The Vatican says it is taking no extraordinary health measures for the 71-year-old pontiff. A spokeswoman said Leo personally confirmed the full itinerary without changes and remained enthusiastic about the journey.
Leo revealed last month that doctors had found a tumour during a routine scan. Surgeons removed the growth and the lower lobe of his right lung. His medical team subsequently confirmed that the cancer had not spread.
Since surgery, the Pope has also resumed speeches and audiences. However, the journey involves multiple flights and thousands of miles of travel, stretching from the Andes to the Amazon.
Latin America trip opens in Uruguay
The tour begins in Uruguay, which will receive its first papal visit in four decades. The country has also experienced a steep decline in Catholic numbers in recent years.
Leo then travels to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Father Fernando Laguna, rector of Argentina’s national church in Rome, described the visit as a tribute to Francis. The late pontiff never returned to Argentina during his papacy.
Meanwhile, Laguna is installing a large screen so parishioners in Rome can follow the visit. Millions of people are expected to greet Leo in Argentina.
The Argentine leg also carries political sensitivities. President Javier Milei previously attacked Francis over his support for social justice, while Argentina’s bishops have criticised Milei’s austerity measures. However, Milei has welcomed Leo’s visit in a post on X.
Peru homecoming and meetings with abuse survivors
The final leg brings the US-born Pope back to Peru, where he also holds citizenship. Before becoming pontiff, Robert Prevost spent almost two decades there across several periods.
His itinerary includes Chiclayo, where he became bishop in 2014. He remained there until Francis brought him to the Vatican almost a decade later.
Leo will also celebrate Mass in Cusco, the former Inca capital, more than 3,000 metres above sea level. He then heads to Pucallpa in the Amazon.
Across all three countries, the Vatican says Leo will meet survivors of clerical sexual abuse. The issue also overshadowed Francis’s 2018 visit to Chile and Peru.
