Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to begin a 12-day South American trip on November 6, visiting Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru. (Foto: Instagram)
Pope Leo XIV is set to begin a 12-day South American trip on Friday, November 6, less than a month after undergoing surgery for pulmonary adenocarcinoma. The itinerary includes Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, in that order; Brazil is not on the schedule. The pope had surgery on October 13 to remove the lung cancer, one of the most common types of lung cancer.
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the visit would take Leo back to places that shaped his life, particularly Peru. He said encounters with local communities there would carry memories, affection, and gratitude, and described the trip as likely to be an intense and meaningful personal experience for the pope.
Before becoming pope, Leo, born Robert Prevost in the United States, spent nearly 20 years in Peru and became a naturalized Peruvian citizen. He was sent to the country as a missionary and became bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in 2015. Chiclayo is among the places on the papal itinerary.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said at a news conference that arrangements were made to ensure the pope could recover from surgery before traveling. Doctors expressed confidence in his recovery, Bruni said, and appropriate medical care will be available throughout the trip.
The journey will be the seventh of Leo’s pontificate and its longest so far. The Holy See says he is scheduled to deliver 36 speeches, all in Spanish. The program includes stops in the Peruvian Amazon and at prisons. Pope John Paul II was the last pontiff to visit Uruguay and Argentina, in the 1980s; Pope Francis visited Peru in 2018.
