Pope Leo begins three-nation Latin America trip in Uruguay three weeks after cancer surgery
The 71-year-old pope arrives in Montevideo for a packed three-day stay in Uruguay, the region's least Catholic country.
Pope Leo XIV began a three-nation tour of Latin America in Uruguay on Friday, three weeks after lung cancer surgery on October 13 that had put the trip in doubt. He is scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17.
In Uruguay, the pope will visit a neighborhood affected by gang violence and hold Masses in Paysandú and Florida. He will also meet President Yamandú Orsi. Uruguay has not had a papal visit since 1988, and its 3.5 million people are considered the most secular in the region.
The Vatican's new communications chief said the pope has passed the 14-day recovery period doctors required and that his doctors are very confident. The trip is the longest and farthest of his papacy. It ends in Peru, where he served as a missionary priest and bishop for two decades.
Key points
- Trip covers Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, November 6 to 17
- Pope Leo had lung cancer surgery on October 13
- Uruguay is the region's most secular country, with 3.5 million people
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