What to know about Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Pope Leo XIV will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from 6 to 17 November, returning to the continent where he spent two decades as a missionary priest. The longest and most distant trip of his papacy comes three weeks after surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, but doctors have cleared him to travel. The tour comes as Catholic affiliation has declined in the countries he will visit, raising questions about the Church’s place in the region.

In Uruguay, where more than half the population identifies as religiously unaffiliated, Leo will visit a parish in a poor area of Montevideo and celebrate a feast honouring the Virgin of the Thirty-three, linked to the country’s independence. In Argentina, he will honour his predecessor Pope Francis at the Buenos Aires cathedral and a prison where Francis once ministered, and meet President Javier Milei. The meeting comes amid tensions between the government and Church leaders over spending cuts affecting disability support and services for people in need.