Pope Leo heads to Latin America for 12-day trip weeks after lung cancer surgery

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ROME —Pope Leo XIV heads to South America on Friday, just three weeks after undergoing lung cancer surgery, for an emotionally charged reunion with the continent that includes a much-anticipated "homecoming" to Peru, where he was a priest for many years.

The head of the Catholic Church will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in one of the most intense papal foreign trips in decades, meeting political leaders, prisoners, the poor, as well as old friends during his 12-day trip.

The Vatican says no extraordinary measures are being taken in relation to the Pope's health, describing him as a "71-year-old who has undergone an operation" not someone with a "permanent medical condition".

It was Leo himself who revealed last month that doctors had discovered a tumor during a routine scan. The growth was removed along with the lower lobe of his right lung and his medical team then confirmed the cancer had not spread.

At a briefing in Rome ahead of the trip, which takes him to Uruguay and Argentina as well as Peru, a spokeswoman stressed that Pope Leo had "fantastic stamina" and was "extremely enthusiastic" about the schedule, which he had "personally confirmed... with no changes".

"The Vatican's message with this trip is, 'that was a short episode and now we're back on track'," Professor Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University told the BBC, pointing out that the Pope has had a busy return to work since his surgery.

"We have seen him in these last few days making speeches, audiences and so on. He seems in great shape. That was important."

The 12-day tour would be demanding for anyone, though. It incorporates multiple long-haul and local flights and covers thousands of miles from the Amazon to the Andes.

The starting point will be Uruguay, where the number of Catholics has fallen away steeply in recent years and which is getting its first Papal visit in four decades.

Leo then heads for Argentina, homeland of Pope Francis, his predecessor.

"This visit is also a homage to Francis, who didn't make it to Argentina [as pope]," says Father Fernando Laguna, the rector of Santa Maria Addolorata, Argentina's national church in Rome.

"When this visit by Pope Leo was announced, it filled all of our hearts with joy," he told the BBC. "I always thought he would go, despite his illness. I don't think he ever thought of calling it off!"

The priest is installing a big screen inside the church in Rome to allow parishioners to follow all the key moments of the trip from afar. The building is already decked out with posters declaring Pope Leo is welcome in Argentina. "We're waiting for you!", one proclaims.

This leg of the Pope's journey, which includes meetings with heads of state as well as religious events, could be the most politically sensitive. President Javier Milei once called Pope Francis "evil on earth" and a "communist" for promoting a doctrine of social justice to help the poor. In turn, Argentina's bishops have criticised Milei's harsh austerity measures, making sweeping cuts to social spending.

But Milei has already welcomed Pope Leo, writing in a post on X that Argentina awaits "with immense joy". Millions are expected to turn out to greet him.

The highlight of the trip is undoubtedly saved for last, when Pope Leo reaches Peru, described by the Vatican as a return to his roots.

"He knows these streets," is how a spokeswoman put it.

Born in the US, the then Robert Prevost spent almost 20 years in Peru, on and off, and even has Peruvian citizenship. That time is seen as fundamental to shaping his papacy.

His schedule includes a return to the diocese of Chiclayo where he was ordained bishop in 2014 and remained until Francis moved him to the Vatican almost a decade later.

He will also travel to Cusco, former capital of the Inca Empire, to say Mass more than 3,000m above sea level before heading to Pucallpa in the Amazon.

In all three countries, the Vatican says the Pope will have meetings with survivors of clerical sexual abuse - an issue which clouded a 2018 visit to Chile and Peru by his predecessor.

"This is how the papacy reconnects with Latin America after Francis, whose visits to the region were not always seamless," is how Professor Faggioli sees it.

He believes Pope Leo has a strong sense of the unity of the Americas as one continent. "Democracies are in trouble there, so there are so many things he can address," he suggests.

"The big question then is the United States. There's no question he wants to go. So will he travel when [President Donald] Trump is still in office? I'm sure they're thinking about this."