Pope Leo opens 12-day South America tour after lung surgery
What's next: Leo is due in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with stops expected to draw huge crowds and meetings with political leaders.
Pope Leo XIV left Rome on Friday for a 12-day trip through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, his first major foreign tour since recent surgery. The Vatican said he has fully healed and that no extra medical precautions were needed beyond the standard care used on papal trips.
The 71-year-old pontiff is set to cross 10 cities and deliver 36 speeches during a demanding itinerary that includes Masses, meetings with heads of state, a prison visit in Argentina and a stop in remote Andean communities in Peru. The journey is especially charged in Peru, where Leo spent years as a missionary and became a citizen, and in Argentina, home of his predecessor, Pope Francis.