Vatican confirms tour dates: Pope Leo to visit 10 cities after surgery
The 71-year-old pontiff is scheduled to travel through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17 following an October operation to remove a lung tumour.
By Javier Sanders ·
The Vatican confirmed on Monday that Pope Leo will travel to South America as planned, three weeks after surgeons in Rome removed a tumour from his right lung. The trip runs from November 6 to 17 and covers Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with a programme of 10 city visits unchanged from the original schedule.
Leo, 71, was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent a 90-minute operation on 13 October at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he was discharged on 17 October. His surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, said the pope was in an "absolutely satisfactory clinical condition" and that there were "no clinical reasons" the trip should not proceed. Tests showed the cancer was "localised".
The itinerary starts in Uruguay on November 8, with a stop in Montevideo, then moves to Argentina from November 11 to 17, including Buenos Aires. Peru follows for six days, with visits to Lima, Chiclayo, Cuzco and Pucallpa. About 76% of Peru's population is Catholic, according to the Vatican.
Cardinal Castillo, the Archbishop of Lima, told Vatican News that the Peru leg will include young people, women who run community kitchens and members of indigenous communities. He noted Leo's long connection to Chiclayo, where the pope lived for several years. Leo holds Peruvian citizenship; the Church sent him there as a missionary in 1985, when he was 30, joining the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas in Piura and later the mission in Trujillo. He worked between the United States and Peru for nearly three decades.
Leo first disclosed the lung nodule during Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square on 11 October, saying doctors found it at an early stage and advised removal. Since the operation he has rested and resumed duties gradually, adjusting his daily schedule with his doctors, the Vatican said. The Vatican also said on Friday that a planned trip to Assisi on 27 October would be cancelled on doctors' advice.
The pope said he looks forward to "returning to the continent where I've experienced so many moments of my life."
