Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on Friday to begin a 12-day tour of South America less than four weeks after lung cancer surgery.
The 71-year-old pontiff landed at Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo after a 13-hour flight from Rome. Doctors operated on October 13 to remove a cancerous tumor and the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican said he is now cancer-free and requires no further treatment.
Telling reporters aboard the papal plane that he felt "in fairly good shape," Leo said he had "no doubt" the trip would proceed. "I know some people were doubtful about this trip taking place," he said. "I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward."
Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi greeted him on the tarmac. Church bells rang across the nation. An estimated 30,000 people lined the waterfront route to Plaza Independencia, where Leo delivered a speech in Spanish.
The visit marks the first papal trip to Uruguay in almost 40 years. Pope John Paul II last visited in 1988. Uruguay is regarded as Latin America's most secular country, with strict separation of church and state.
In his address, Leo praised Uruguay's "remarkable" transition to clean energy and its four decades of uninterrupted democracy. He highlighted the country's mental health challenges, noting it has the highest suicide rate in Latin America. He also called for healthcare to be "accessible to all," citing his own experience with cancer and the "many men and women who lack the means" for timely diagnosis.
Leo reminded officials that the state should care for its people "young and old." He said it is everyone's responsibility to ensure each person can "live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life." This was a veiled reference to Uruguay's abortion policy and its 2025 legalization of assisted dying, both contrary to Catholic teaching.
The tour continues to Argentina, the homeland of Leo's predecessor Pope Francis, who never returned there during his papacy. Leo will address Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday. Officials expect 7 million people to attend events in Argentina.
The trip concludes in Peru on November 17. Leo spent more than 20 years there as a missionary and bishop and holds Peruvian citizenship. He will visit Cusco, the Amazon rainforest, and his former diocese of Chiclayo.
The Vatican said no special medical precautions were being taken beyond standard care. María Montserrat Alvarado, the Vatican's communications chief, said Leo's stamina is "fantastic" and that "the way that he's singing is incredible. And you can only sing if your lungs are really strong."
Leo also told reporters he cast a mail-in ballot in the US midterm elections. He said he was "proud to be an American and to exercise the right" to vote. He was the first pope known to vote in a political election.
