Pope Leo XIV launches Latin America tour three weeks after lung cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV is packing his bags for Latin America, and he's doing it barely three weeks after going under the knife. The 12-day tour takes in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with long-haul flights and thousands of miles from the Amazon to the Andes. The Vatican says he's up for all of it.

At a briefing in Rome, a spokeswoman insisted the Pope has ,fantastic stamina, and is ,extremely enthusiastic, about a schedule he personally confirmed with no changes. No extraordinary health measures are in play, she said, describing him as a ,71-year-old who has undergone an operation, rather than someone living with a permanent medical condition. Leo revealed last month that a tumour turned up during a routine scan; it was removed along with the lower lobe of his right lung, and his medical team confirmed the cancer had not spread.

Uruguay comes first, landing its first papal visit in four decades at a time when Catholic numbers there have slid sharply. Then it's on to Argentina, homeland of predecessor Pope Francis. That leg could get politically spicy: President Javier Milei once branded Francis ,evil on earth, and a ,communist,, while Argentina's bishops have slammed his austerity cuts. Milei has since welcomed Leo in a post on X, and millions are expected to turn out.

In Rome, Father Fernando Laguna, rector of Argentina's national church, Santa Maria Addolorata, said the announcement filled hearts with joy. The church is installing a big screen so parishioners can follow every key moment, and posters already declare ,We're waiting for you!,

The emotional finale belongs to Peru. Born in the US as Robert Prevost, the Pope spent almost 20 years there on and off and holds Peruvian citizenship — a stretch the Vatican calls a return to his roots. He'll revisit Chiclayo, the diocese where he was ordained bishop in 2014, say Mass in Cusco more than 3,000m above sea level, and head into the Amazon at Pucallpa.

In all three countries, the Vatican says Leo will meet survivors of clerical sexual abuse — an issue that shadowed his predecessor's 2018 trip to Chile and Peru. Professor Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University told the BBC the trip is how the papacy reconnects with Latin America after Francis, whose regional visits were not always seamless. He added that the big open question is the United States — whether Leo travels while President Donald Trump is still in office.