Pope Leo XIV is about to embark on one of the most ambitious papal trips abroad in recent decades, traveling through Uruguay, Argentina and his adopted homeland, Peru, despite having recently undergone surgery for lung cancer. The head of the Catholic Church, 71 years old, was operated on less than three weeks ago to remove a cancerous tumor, but doctors say he needs no further treatment and have given him the green light for the 11-day trip to South America. Leo XIV has said he is "looking forward to returning to the continent where I have lived so many moments of my life" with the November 6–17 tour, which includes 12 flights, two helicopter rides and a prayer at high altitude in the Andes. Millions of faithful are expected to turn out to see the pope, who will combine pastoral encounters with speeches to leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, whose relationship with the Church is strained. Although the Vatican has said Leo is still recovering, the pope will preside over more than 50 events, from open-air Masses to meetings with indigenous peoples in the Amazon, victims of clerical abuse, and the elderly, poor and disabled. Pope Leo XIV recently underwent surgery for lung cancer (EFE/EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO/Archive)
"This will be the most closely followed trip of Leo's papacy to date," Christopher White, of Georgetown University in Washington and author of a book on the pontiff, told AFP.
"This was already going to be an intense trip... a feat even without his surgery. Now, it will be examined in even greater detail," he stressed.
The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will begin his trip in Uruguay, Latin America's most secular country, where he will be received by President Yamandu Orsi. This liberal nation is at odds with the Catholic Church on issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia — which was legalized last year — and Leo is expected to make an appeal to protect life.
The pontiff will then travel to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who disappointed many Argentines by not returning for a visit during his pontificate.
Pope Leo XIV met with Argentine President Javier Milei at the Vatican on June 7, 2025 (Vatican Media/Mario Tomassetti/REUTERS)
Authorities expect seven million pilgrims to turn out to welcome him. In Buenos Aires, the pope will meet with Milei. Although the president's exchanges with Leo XIV have proven less turbulent than his dialogues with Francis, local Church leaders have spoken out forcefully about the high human cost of the president's efforts to revive the battered economy.
The South American trip will culminate in an emotional homecoming in Peru.
"I know he is eager to return to Peru. It means a lot to him personally... he has been very determined to go," US Vatican expert Elise Ann Allen, author of a biography of the pope, told AFP.
Before becoming Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost served for nearly two decades in the Andean country, including his post as bishop in the coastal city of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. The first pontiff born in the United States, who holds Peruvian citizenship, will celebrate a Mass on a desert plain near the Pacific Ocean, before visiting Cusco, the ancient Inca capital, and Pucallpa, a city in the Amazon rainforest.
In Lima, he will meet with Peru's right-wing president, Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori, who was imprisoned for corruption and crimes against humanity, and on whose legacy she draws.
In Lima, Leo XIV will meet with Peru's right-wing president, Keiko Fujimori (Graphic composition)
The pope is likely to address the ills afflicting Peru, from a major crime wave driven by contract killings and rampant extortion, to the cocaine industry, one of the largest in the world, and its impact on indigenous peoples. He is also expected to address Peru's political instability — Fujimori is the country's ninth leader in a decade — and the importance of protecting the dignity of migrants in a country that hosts some 1.6 million Venezuelans.
Leo XIV's visit to Cusco, at an altitude of 3,400 meters, will be brief — less than three hours — but will be under intense scrutiny, amid questions about whether the pontiff has underestimated his cancer or has overcome it with apparent ease.
"If the Pope pulls this off, it will only reinforce the image much of the world has had of Leo since his election: that of a young, strong and energetic Pope," White said. (AFP)