Pope Leo XIV has begun a 12-day tour of Latin America, landing in Uruguay on Friday, 6 November, just over three weeks after surgery for lung cancer. The trip, running until 17 November, will also take the 71-year-old pontiff to Argentina and Peru, the country where he served as a missionary and bishop for around two decades.

The pope had surgery last month to remove a third of his right lung after a small growth found during routine checks was confirmed as cancer. He left Rome's Gemelli Hospital on 17 October, and his doctors announced on 26 October that he would be able to make the trip as planned. CNN reports the visit covers around 19,000 miles, with 14 flights, 36 speeches and about 50 events, making it one of the most demanding papal trips in recent years.

High altitude and huge crowds

The schedule includes a visit to Cusco in Peru, more than 11,000 feet above sea level, where there is about 35 percent less oxygen per breath. Around 1.2 million people are expected at his final Mass at Las Palmas Airbase in Lima, and more than a million are expected at his Mass in Buenos Aires.

A homecoming in Peru

Uruguay is receiving its first papal visit in four decades. In Argentina, the visit carries particular weight because the late Pope Francis, the first Argentine pontiff, never visited his home country. Le Monde reports that in Peru, where Leo will spend six days, he is seen as a native son, and that he is due to meet the country's new president, Keiko Fujimori, on his first day in Lima on Wednesday, 11 November. The trip comes as Argentine President Javier Milei's austerity measures have cut welfare spending, a backdrop the pope's visit is unlikely to escape.