Pope Leo XIV begins South American visit less than a month after lung surgery

Pope Leo XIV arrives at Montevideo-Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on Friday to begin a three-nation South American tour, less than a month after lung surgery and eight years after a pope last visited the continent.

With Uruguay’s President Yamandu Orsi on hand at Carrasco International Airport to welcome him and bells pealing at parishes and churches across the nation, the pontiff landed in Montevideo after a nearly 14-hour flight from Rome.

It is the first papal visit in nearly four decades to Uruguay, Latin America’s most secular country; Pope John Paul II last visited in 1988.

The packed three-day itinerary in Uruguay includes a visit to a neighbourhood plagued by gang violence, a Mass in Paysandu, around 375km from the capital, and another Mass in the city of Florida, about 100km from Montevideo.

The aircraft, adorned with the flags of the Vatican and Uruguay, touched down at 4.20pm local time.

The pontiff was offered a selection of traditional gifts, including a handwoven wool blanket and a traditional gaucho horse tack set.

After Uruguay, Leo will travel to Argentina, the homeland of the late Pope Francis, who never visited during his 12-year papacy.

His last stop is Peru, where Leo holds citizenship and spent two decades as a missionary and bishop.

The trip to Latin America marks the longest and farthest of his pontificate, all being undertaken as the 71-year-old pope continues his recovery.

The trip will also bring him to neighbouring Argentina and finally back home to Peru, where Leo served as a missionary priest and bishop for two decades.

María Montserrat Alvarado, the Vatican’s new communications chief, said: “His stamina is fantastic. The way that he’s singing is incredible. And you can only sing if your lungs are really strong.”

She noted that Leo has passed the 14-day convalescence period required by doctors after his October 13 surgery and is eager to get on the road.

“His doctors are very confident and he’ll have plenty of medical care on board should something happen, but we don’t see that in his prognosis or even in the way that he’s acting,” she said.