Pope Leo XIV sets first Latin America trip, visiting Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November
The first U.S.-born pope returns to his adopted home of Peru, where he spent two decades as a missionary, and steps onto soil his predecessor Pope Francis never did.
Pope Leo XIV will make his first papal visit to Latin America from November 6 to 17, the Vatican announced on Wednesday. The 12-day journey across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru covers 10 cities and marks the sixth international trip since his election in May 2025. It also follows a late-September visit to France (September 25-28), where he will meet President Emmanuel Macron and celebrate an open-air mass on the Champs-Élysées.
The itinerary
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the pope will be in Uruguay from November 6 to 8, visiting Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida. He will then travel to Argentina from November 8 to 11, with stops in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and the sanctuary of Luján. The longest leg runs in Peru from November 11 to 17, taking him to Lima, Cusco, Pucallpa and Chiclayo. The full detailed program will be released later, the Vatican said.
A return to Chiclayo
Leo XIV, born in Chicago, spent roughly two decades in Peru as an Augustinian missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He acquired Peruvian citizenship in 2015. The return to his former diocese is expected to be one of the most significant moments of the trip. The pope will also visit Pucallpa, in the heart of the Amazon, another area tied to his missionary work.
Argentina, avoided by Francis
Leo XIV's predecessor, Pope Francis, was born in Argentina but never returned there during his 12-year papacy. Biographer Jimmy Burns suggested Francis feared any visit would be exploited by either the left-wing Peronists or conservatives in Argentina's polarized political climate.
Any visit would try to be exploited by one side or the other, and he would unintentionally fuel those divisions.
The last pope to visit Argentina was John Paul II, who toured 10 cities there in 1987.
Argentine President Javier Milei welcomed the announcement on social media, calling it a historic day. He had extended the invitation earlier in the year.
Argentina receives the Pope! I have been officially informed that Argentina will receive the Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Leo XIV, following the acceptance of the invitation I extended to him earlier this year. Between November 8 and 11, we will welcome the Holy Father to our country. A historic day for all Argentines.
Uruguay, 40 years after John Paul II
The Uruguay leg is the first papal visit to the country since John Paul II's trips in 1987 and 1988. Uruguay has the lowest Catholic affiliation rate in Latin America (just over 30%), but Italian media noted a deep popular religiosity. The pope is expected to honour the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, Uruguay's patroness, whose original wooden statue is kept in the cathedral of Florida.
First Latin America trip since 2019
The tour marks the first papal visit to Latin America since Francis attended World Youth Day in Panama in January 2019. The last papal visit to South America specifically was Francis's trip to Chile and Peru in 2018. Leo XIV's schedule has been increasingly active: after his election he visited Turkey and Lebanon in late 2025, Monaco in March 2026, four African nations (Angola, Algeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea) in April, and Spain in June.
