Pope Leo XIV reached Montevideo on Friday to open a 12-day swing through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the longest journey of his papacy and his first major trip abroad since surgeons removed part of his right lung last month.
He wasted no time challenging his hosts. Speaking in Spanish, the 71-year-old pontiff stressed the protection of family life and took aim at Uruguay's laws allowing abortion and euthanasia.
It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that each person can live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life.
Pope Leo XIV
No pope had set foot in Uruguay since John Paul II in 1988. The country is the most secular in Latin America, where Christmas is officially called Family Day and Holy Week is known as Tourism Week, and an August survey by Equipos Consultores found 36% of adults identify as Catholic.
The Vatican estimated that as many as 30,000 people lined the route as Leo rode by in his popemobile. The crowd at the central Plaza Independencia was far thinner, filling less than half the square, though tickets for his Saturday vigil at Centenario Stadium sold out in two days.
President Yamandú Orsi presided over the welcome ceremony. A plan for Leo to address Uruguay's parliament was dropped after a quick backlash from both the public and politicians.
Health and a heavy schedule
Leo had surgery on Oct. 13 to remove a cancerous tumor. Follow-up exams found the disease localized, doctors saw no medical reason to call off the trip, and Vatican officials say he finished a two-week recovery and needs no further treatment.
Aboard the papal plane, Leo said he never doubted the journey would happen and credited his medical team, describing himself as in fairly good shape. His advice to others with cancer: do not be afraid, get checked regularly and catch it early.
The itinerary is punishing: 12 flights, two of them by helicopter, 36 speeches and 10 cities, including Cusco, Peru, more than 11,000 feet above sea level. Vatican communications chief Maria Montserrat Alvarado said his doctors are confident and ample medical care will travel with him.
On Saturday he is due to say Mass in Paysandú, then return to Montevideo to visit Casavalle, a poor district troubled by drug trafficking and gang violence, before a university event and the stadium vigil. Sunday brings an open-air Mass in Florida at the shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, a figure tied to Uruguay's 1825 break from Brazilian rule.
Argentina and Peru ahead
Leo then spends Nov. 8 to 11 in Argentina, visiting Buenos Aires, Luján and Córdoba and meeting President Javier Milei, whose deep spending cuts have strained relations with the country's church leaders. It is the first papal visit there since 1987; Pope Francis, an Argentine, turned down repeated invitations to go home.
The final leg, Nov. 11 to 16, takes him to Peru, where he spent two decades, became a naturalized citizen in 2015 and served as bishop of Chiclayo until 2023. Stops include Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa, along with a meeting with President Keiko Fujimori, before he flies back to Rome on Nov. 17.
The Vatican has said Leo will meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse along the way but has not offered details. Before leaving, he asked for prayers on social media so that the journey would strengthen faith and renew hope.
