Pope Leo XIV has embarked on a 12-day journey through South America, his first major international trip since undergoing surgery for lung cancer just three weeks ago. The Pope Leo XIV Latin America tour will take him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with the final stop described by the Vatican as a return to his roots.
A demanding schedule
The itinerary is grueling by any standard: multiple long-haul and regional flights, events spanning from the Amazon basin to the Andes, and meetings with heads of state alongside religious ceremonies. Yet the Vatican insists no special precautions are being taken for the 71-year-old pontiff. A spokeswoman characterized him as a man who had an operation, not someone living with a permanent medical condition, and highlighted his remarkable energy and eagerness for the trip, which he personally approved without alterations.
Last month, Leo disclosed that a routine scan had revealed a tumor. Surgeons removed the growth along with the lower lobe of his right lung, and his medical team later confirmed the cancer had not spread. Since then, he has resumed a full schedule of speeches and audiences, appearing in strong form. Professor Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University told the BBC that the Vatican’s message with this trip is that the health scare was a brief episode and that the Pope is now back on track.
Uruguay and Argentina
The journey opens in Uruguay, a country that has seen a sharp decline in Catholic affiliation and is receiving its first papal visit in four decades. From there, Leo travels to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Father Fernando Laguna, rector of Argentina’s national church in Rome, said the announcement of the visit filled hearts with joy and that he always believed the Pope would make the trip despite his illness. The church has installed a large screen for parishioners to follow the key moments and is decorated with posters welcoming Leo.
The Argentina leg may prove the most politically delicate. President Javier Milei has previously used harsh language against Pope Francis, calling him evil and a communist for advocating social justice for the poor. Argentina’s bishops, in turn, have criticized Milei’s austerity measures and cuts to social spending. Nevertheless, Milei has publicly welcomed Leo on social media, saying Argentina awaits him with immense joy. Millions are expected to turn out to see the Pope.
Homecoming in Peru
The highlight of the tour is saved for last: Peru, where the Pope spent nearly two decades, on and off, and holds citizenship. The Vatican describes it as a return to his roots, noting that he knows these streets. Born in the United States as Robert Prevost, he was ordained bishop in the diocese of Chiclayo in 2014 and served there until Francis called him to the Vatican almost a decade later. His schedule includes a return to Chiclayo, a Mass in Cusco—the former Inca capital—more than 3,000 meters above sea level, and a visit to Pucallpa in the Amazon.
In all three countries, the Vatican says the Pope will meet with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, an issue that overshadowed a 2018 trip to Chile and Peru by his predecessor. Professor Faggioli sees the tour as a way for the papacy to reconnect with Latin America after Francis, whose visits to the region were not always smooth. He believes Leo has a strong sense of the Americas as a single continent and notes that democracies in the region are struggling, giving the Pope many topics to address.
One open question, Faggioli suggests, is the United States. Leo clearly wants to go, but whether he will travel while President Donald Trump is in office is something the Vatican is surely considering.
