Pope Leo XIV confirms Latin America trip after lung surgery

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Pope Leo XIV confirms Latin America trip after surgery recovery euronews.com

Pope Leo XIV will travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from 6 to 17 November, the Holy See's press office has confirmed, after doctors verified the favourable progress of his recovery from recent surgery. The trip — his first to Latin America as pope — goes ahead as originally planned.

The pope left hospital after a lung operation, and the Vatican's announcement read like an itinerary wrapped around the medical bulletin that followed it. The procedure went ahead without complications, subsequent tests confirmed the illness was contained, and no additional oncological treatment is needed. Check-ups two weeks after the operation showed a favourable recovery, with no contraindications to travel. Doctor Luigi Carbone, who reports on the pope's progress, confirmed he is in good health.

Since returning to the Vatican, Leo XIV has resumed his activities on a schedule adapted to medical recommendations, with time set aside to rest. The last change doctors made to his travel plans cancelled a pilgrimage to Assisi; this one keeps a longer journey on the calendar. The first American-born pope has a close personal bond with the region, and described the destination in personal terms: "It fills me with happiness to return to the continent where I have lived so many moments of my life." During the visit, the statement said, he will seek to strengthen ties with Catholic communities and convey a message of faith, hope and peace.

A twelve-day tour across three countries is now the papacy's first major foreign commitment since the operation, authorised in the same statement as the test results that cleared it. The itinerary runs nearly two weeks; the schedule governing it includes, on medical advice, time set aside for rest.