The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Leo will go ahead with his South American tour as planned, despite having undergone surgery for lung cancer. The trip is scheduled for 6-17 November and will take him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. The Vatican said the pope was looking forward to it “with great joy and enthusiasm”.
The 71-year-old had surgery in Rome on 13 October to remove a tumour from the lower part of his right lung. The Vatican said the pope will follow the same programme as originally planned, visiting 10 cities during the tour.
Tour schedule across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru
The tour begins in Uruguay on 8 November, where the pope will visit the capital, Montevideo, and other key cities. He will then travel to Argentina from 11 to 17 November, with stops that include the capital, Buenos Aires.
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The final leg is six days in Peru, where roughly 76% of the population is Catholic. Stops are planned in Lima, Chiclayo, Cuzco and Pucallpa. Peru’s Cardinal Castillo, the Archbishop of Lima, has said the visit will involve young people, women who help run community kitchens, and members of indigenous communities, according to Vatican News.
The pope has Peruvian citizenship and close ties to Chiclayo, where he lived for several years. The Catholic Church sent him to Peru as a missionary in 1985, when he was 30. He joined the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, in the Peruvian department of Piura, and the following year moved to the mission in Trujillo. For almost three decades he worked between the United States and Peru.
Pope Leo’s lung surgery and recovery in Rome
Leo announced the news of his operation himself on 11 October, during his weekly Sunday prayers in St Peter’s Square. He told the crowd that doctors had found a nodule on his lung. He reassured pilgrims that the growth was “well-contained” and caught “at an early stage”, but said his doctors had advised removing it.
The surgery lasted 90 minutes, and he was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on 17 October. His surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, said the pope was in an “absolutely satisfactory clinical condition” and that there were “no clinical reasons” the trip should not go ahead. Tests showed the cancer was “localised”.
Since the operation, the pope has been resting and gradually resuming his work. The Vatican said he is “adjusting his daily schedule in consultation with his doctors” to prioritise his recovery. On Friday, the Vatican said Leo would cancel a planned trip to Assisi on 27 October on the recommendation of his doctors. It also said he was “deeply grateful for the prayers and affection he has received”.
