Pope Leo begins his first trip to Latin America as pontiff on Friday, embarking on an 11-day journey from November 6 to 17 across the region that remains the world's largest Catholic stronghold — even as Catholic identity there is steadily shrinking while belief in God remains strong, Reuters reported on Wednesday from Montevideo. The Vatican said the ambitious itinerary remains unchanged, weeks after the 71-year-old pontiff's lung cancer surgery.

Source: Reuters

The trip takes him some 31,000 km (19,260 miles) from secular Uruguay to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor Pope Francis, before heading to Peru, where Leo spent years as a missionary and bishop and eventually became a citizen. He will spend two days in Uruguay, three in Argentina and nearly a week in Peru, celebrating outdoor Masses expected to draw millions, addressing political leaders, joining youth vigils and reaching remote Andean communities by helicopter.

Source: Reuters

Three countries, three different stories

Uruguay (November 6–8) is the first stop: Montevideo, the border city of Paysandú and Florida, home to the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three. It is the region's most secular country, where Christians make up 44% of the population. Argentina (November 8–11) follows — Buenos Aires, Córdoba and a Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Luján, the country's patroness. Argentina is the homeland of Pope Francis, who served as archbishop of Buenos Aires but never returned during his pontificate; Leo's visit is the homecoming Francis never made. Peru (November 11–17) is the longest leg and a personal homecoming for Leo himself: Lima, Cusco, the Amazon city of Pucallpa, a military helicopter flight on November 14 to the Andes town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, and finally Chiclayo, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

Source: Vatican schedule via National Catholic Reporter / OSV

A trip confirmed only after surgery

The journey was in doubt until days ago. Leo underwent surgery for lung cancer on October 13, and on October 26 his doctor confirmed he needs no further treatment and can fly, with the Holy See Press Office confirming the November 6–17 journey would proceed according to the programme the Vatican published on September 21, as Awaaz Punjab reported at the time. The schedule was not shortened: more than 19,000 miles, 14 flights and a new destination nearly every day, for a 71-year-old two to three weeks out of cancer surgery.

Source: Reuters / OSV News

Leo's doctors cleared him to fly on October 26, confirming no further cancer treatment was needed. Read: Pope Leo cleared to fly after lung cancer surgery

In Córdoba, one of the Argentine stops, parish priest Rev. Jorge Reinaudo — who has spent nearly a decade building a social media following — is among the local clergy preparing for a visit that Argentine Catholics have awaited since Francis's election in 2013 produced no homecoming in 12 years. Across the region, the pastoral problem Leo flies into is the same one Reuters identifies: Latin America remains the world's largest Catholic stronghold, but the share of people who identify as Catholic keeps falling, even where belief itself has not.

Source: Reuters

What happens next

The journey begins Friday with a flight of more than 14 hours and 6,900 miles from Rome to Montevideo, and ends with the November 17 return from Lima. The moments to watch are the Luján Mass in Argentina — the emotional centre of the trip for Francis's homeland — the helicopter trip into the Andes on November 14, and the closing return to Chiclayo, the Peruvian diocese that made a Chicago-born missionary into a Peruvian citizen and, eventually, pope. It is his longest international journey to date, and the first papal visit to Latin America of his pontificate.

Source: Vatican schedule via NCR