Pope Leo XIV began a 12-day visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on 6 November, three weeks after surgery for a lung tumour, according to the Religion Media Centre’s bulletin of that date, which cites the BBC and Vatican News. The tour covers ten cities between 6 and 17 November.
CBS News reported on 26 October that the pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on 13 October after a malignant tumour, identified as lung adenocarcinoma, was found by chance during a routine abdominal examination. The operation was described as successful and uncomplicated, and he left hospital on 17 October. The Vatican said at the time that clinical results showed “no contraindications” to the journey and that it would go ahead as published.
Some precautions have been taken: CBS said a helicopter trip to Assisi was cancelled the week before because the cabin is not pressurised, and a stop in Cuzco, Peru, at more than 11,000 feet, remains on the programme despite concerns about thin air. The Religion Media Centre quotes the Vatican as describing him as a 71-year-old who has had an operation rather than someone with a permanent medical condition, and says a spokesperson told the BBC he had not asked for any changes to the schedule. Leo, the first American-born pope, spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru.
Reporting note: Details of the trip start are taken from a news digest summarising other outlets, and the health details from a CBS report of 26 October; I could not open the BBC article directly. The photograph shows the cathedral at Cusco, a city on the itinerary, and is for illustration only.
Photo: Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
