Pope Leo XIV Departs Rome for 12-Day South America Tour Starting in Uruguay

The update

Pope Leo XIV left Rome shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday for Montevideo, starting a 12-day South America tour that will also take him to Argentina and Peru. His flight is due in the Uruguayan capital at about 4:30 p.m. local time. In Uruguay he will meet President Yamandú Orsi, address officials and diplomats, preside at Vespers in Montevideo’s cathedral, and visit Paysandú and Florida.

Why it matters

This is Leo’s first visit to Latin America since his election and the longest international journey of his pontificate, with 14 flights and nine public Masses planned. It is the first papal visit to Uruguay since 1988, and it returns him to Peru, where he served for two decades as a missionary and bishop. It comes 24 days after surgery on October 13 to remove a cancerous part of his right lung; Vatican officials said he is clinically fit, needs no further treatment, and his schedule was not changed.

What to watch

Leo travels to Argentina on November 8, visiting Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján, before the final leg in Peru, including Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa. Watch his stamina through a near-daily change of destination, his visit to Montevideo’s Casavalle neighbourhood, and his November 8 Mass in Florida, before he returns to Rome on November 17.

Sources

• euronews.com — confirms departure, arrival time and Uruguay and onward schedule
• catholicsun.org — OSV News confirming dates, takeoff, surgery timeline and itinerary

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