Pope Leo XIV starts demanding 12-day Latin America tour after lung cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, on November 6, beginning a 12-day Apostolic Journey through South America just three weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from his right lung. The 71-year-old American pontiff, who also holds Peruvian citizenship, departed Rome on an ITA Airways flight early Friday morning and was greeted by approximately 30,000 people at Plaza Independencia upon arrival. Despite initial skepticism about the trip's feasibility, Vatican officials confirmed that no extraordinary medical measures are being taken, with the Pope's surgeon stating there were no clinical reasons to cancel the visit.

The tour covers three countries over 12 days, involving 14 flights (including two helicopter rides), 36 scheduled speeches, and approximately 50 events across roughly 19,000 miles. Leo will visit Uruguay through November 8, then travel to Argentina (November 8–11) before spending six days in Peru until November 17. In Peru, the Pope will revisit his former diocese of Chiclayo, where he was ordained bishop in 2014, and travel to Cusco at an elevation exceeding 11,000 feet—a destination that has raised health questions due to reduced oxygen availability. The itinerary also includes the Amazon rainforest and meetings with survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

The Pope told reporters aboard the papal flight that he had "no doubt" the trip should proceed and credited his recovery to "early detection, good doctors, good surgeons, and a healthy lifestyle." He also became the first pope to vote in a U.S. election, doing so before departure. During the flight over Brazilian airspace, Leo XIV sent a telegram to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva conveying blessings of unity and peace, prompting an invitation from the Brazilian president to visit Brazil.

In Uruguay, a notably secular country where only a small fraction of Catholics attend Mass regularly, the Pope addressed healthcare access, mental health challenges (including the region's highest suicide rate), and dignity in end-of-life care—implicit references to the country's 2012 abortion decriminalization and October 2025 assisted dying legislation. His remarks to Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi praised the country's clean energy transition. In Argentina, he is expected to meet with right-wing President Javier Milei, marking the first papal visit since Pope John Paul II in 1987 and the first return visit by a pope since his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis—who was born in Argentina but declined to return during his papacy—shaped the region's path to the current pontiff.

Vatican officials stressed that Pope Leo will travel with standard papal medical assistance, including doctors, nurses, and an ambulance. A medical team is available on the trip, and one traveling journalist is also a physician. Dr. Matthew Triplette, a pulmonologist, told media outlets the risk of medical emergency is "low" but could include complications such as collapsed lung or blood clots, conditions potentially mitigated by low-dose blood thinners or compression devices during long flights. The Pope's recovery from lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, was sufficiently advanced that doctors confirmed no further treatment is needed.