Pope Leo XIV is cleared to start a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Health cleared before departure

Vatican officials said on Tuesday, 3 November, that Pope Leo XIV is in good health and ready to leave on Friday, 6 November, for a demanding tour of three South American countries. The 71-year-old had surgery on 13 October to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, treated as lung adenocarcinoma. Tissue analysis confirmed the disease was localised, so doctors concluded that no further treatment was needed. The trip begins less than four weeks after the operation.

Spokesperson Matteo Bruni told the briefing that the pope's recovery has progressed far enough that no special medical arrangements are required.

“The pope is in good health. We're not talking of a permanent condition.”

Bruni said the pope will be accompanied by the Vatican medical and nursing staff who travel on every foreign trip, with ambulances in the usual convoy. No special medical equipment will be carried. ANSA reported that the pope's personal doctor, Luigi Carbone, was on the papal flight to France at the end of September, which points to the same arrangement for this tour.

Route, schedule and the Cusco stop

The tour runs from 6 to 17 November and covers Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Vatican officials say the pope will travel about 31,000 kilometres, visit 10 cities, deliver 36 addresses and take 12 flights, including two helicopter journeys. Officials confirmed the schedule remains unaltered.

Days12

Cities10

Addresses36

Flights12

Helicopter journeys2

Days

12

Cities

10

Addresses

36

Flights

12

Helicopter journeys

2

Data from the article text

One of the most delicate stops is Cusco in Peru, which sits at 3,500 metres above sea level. The pope is expected to deliver about 40 texts, all in Spanish, on themes including attention to the most vulnerable, interest in prisoners and the fight against injustice. Several meetings with young people are also planned during the trip.

Abuse survivors and advocates

Meetings with abuse survivors are being prepared in Uruguay and Argentina. In Uruguay, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, is to hand the pope a letter from victims. In Argentina a face-to-face meeting is planned, as confirmed by the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. The survivors' group Sobrevivientes says sexual abuse in the church is a civil crime, not a religious sin, and will ask Leo for zero tolerance toward such crimes. The US group Bishop-Accountability has announced that it will present a list in connection with the visit to Peru.

A new communications chief at the briefing

Maria Montserrat Alvarado made her first appearance in the Vatican press room as the new head of communications, greeting journalists in several working languages and in Italian. Asked about the pope's condition, she described his stamina as fantastic and said she had no fear about the trip.

“I would have no fear. His doctors are very confident.”

The Vatican presented the tour as a long-awaited journey that the pope has strongly wanted to make, with a programme that officials say has not changed despite his recent surgery.