Weeks after surgery, pope begins major Latin America tour: 12 planes across 12 days
A demanding journey ahead
The Nov. 6–17 itinerary includes two helicopter rides and visits to 10 cities. Cusco, one of the stops, is more than 11,000 feet above sea level, where travelers may experience altitude sickness and need supplemental oxygen.
Leo underwent surgery last month to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. Vatican officials said he had completed a two-week recovery and needed no further treatment.
Doctors and travel plans
Vatican communications chief Maria Montserrat Alvar said the pope was eager to travel. “His doctors are very confident,” Alvar said, adding that medical care would be available aboard the plane.
The journey is Leo’s first major overseas visit since the surgery. He previously spent two decades in Peru, working as a missionary and later serving as bishop of the coastal city of Chiclayo.
A visit to secular Uruguay
Uruguay is the first stop, despite its small Catholic population and long-standing separation of religion and government. About a third of Uruguayans identify as Catholic, and fewer say they practice, according to polling firm CIFRA director Mariana Pomiés.
Pomiés said secularism means state neutrality on religion, not opposition to religion. In Montevideo, churches displayed posters of the pope, while volunteers prepared Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the working-class Casavalle neighborhood for his scheduled Saturday visit.
Key points
- Pope Leo XIV began a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
- His itinerary includes 12 flights, 36 speeches and 10 cities.
- Uruguay, where about a third identify as Catholic, is the tour’s first stop.