Pope Leo XIV starts Latin America trip in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on 6 November

A trip after surgery

Pope Leo XIV leaves on Friday, 6 November, for what DW describes as his longest foreign trip so far, a journey that runs until 17 November. The Pope had an operation on 13 October to remove the lower lobe of his right lung because of a tumour. Doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora say the cancer had not spread and that no further treatment is required, and they see no clinical reason to postpone the trip. The Vatican says no additional health measures are needed for the visit. The Holy See's communications head, Montserrat Alvarado, presented the trip and described the Pope's mood.

“He is very excited. He personally confirmed this trip, with no change to the schedule.”

Alvarado also said the Pope reads public concern about his health as a sign that people care for him.

Three countries, three stops

The tour opens in Uruguay on Friday, 6 November, where Leo XIV spends three days in the least Catholic country in Latin America. President Yamandu Orsi, a leftist, is due to meet him at the airport. Argentina follows, with arrival on Sunday, 8 November, and a four-day stay that includes Buenos Aires, where the Pope will pay homage to Pope Francis, who never made that visit himself. The last papal visits were in April 1987 to Argentina and in 1988 to Uruguay, while Francis last visited Peru in January 2018. The Peru leg lasts five days and centres on the Pope's personal link to the country, since Robert Francis Prevost lived there for about 20 years and holds Peruvian citizenship. He will stay three nights in Chiclayo, where he was bishop from 2015 to 2023, and he will visit Cusco, the former Inca capital.

Uruguay3

Argentina4

Peru5

Uruguay

3 days

Argentina

4 days

Peru

5 days

Data from the article text

Politics and a shrinking flock

Argentina is the most politically delicate stop, since views far apart from those of President Javier Milei are expected to surface at the Casa Rosada. DW describes Milei as a libertarian, populist president whose spending cuts have hit people with disabilities hard. The Pope has chosen to visit the Cottolengo Don Orione centre in Claypole, on the southern edge of Buenos Aires. Over 400 people with intellectual and physical disabilities live there, and another 220 attend its therapeutic education centre and special school. The church-run institution has suffered from massive funding cuts by the government. Catholic affiliation is shrinking across the region: in Uruguay the share of Catholics fell from about 60% in 1995 to just over 30%, and in Argentina it dropped from about 70% to 58% within ten years. In Peru, 67% of people still describe themselves as Catholic.

Abuse cases and criticism

Abuse scandals are among the main reasons for the decline in Catholic numbers, and they feature on this trip too. The Vatican says the Pope will meet abuse survivors during the journey. Thirty-three victims of the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana in Peru have asked for a meeting with him, and Francis dissolved the ultraconservative group in 2025. Survivors praise Prevost for his action against the Sodalicio. However, three women who say they were abused criticise what they call a 'superficial investigation' of their cases while he was bishop of Chiclayo. They say the alleged perpetrators could keep their priestly duties without significant restrictions, although he reportedly started a case in the Vatican.

Health concerns and the Pope's message

Some doctors cited by N-tv take a critical view of the schedule. After such surgery, patients usually need months to adapt to reduced lung capacity, and the standard advice is to avoid flying for the first three to four weeks. Leo XIV will take 14 flights or helicopter transfers and give 40 speeches, and the first leg from Rome to Uruguay lasts 14.5 hours. Crowds also carry infection risks, and papal Masses draw hundreds of thousands of people. The Vatican intends to keep all appointments despite these concerns. Leo told the general audience in Rome on Wednesday, 4 November, what he hopes the journey will bring.

“May this journey strengthen faith, renew hope and rekindle the fire of love!”

He also called the trip an impulse for proclaiming the Gospel with joy.