Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on Friday to begin a three-country tour of South America, less than a month after undergoing lung surgery and eight years after a pope last visited the continent.
Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi was at Carrasco International Airport to welcome him, while church bells rang out across the country. The pontiff landed in the capital, Montevideo, following an almost 14-hour flight from Rome. It marks the first papal visit to Uruguay in nearly four decades.
Leo's packed three-day itinerary includes a visit to a neighbourhood plagued by gang violence, a Mass in Paysandú, around 375 kilometres from the capital, and another service in the city of Florida, approximately 100 kilometres north of Montevideo.
The aircraft, adorned with the flags of the Vatican and Uruguay, touched down at 4:20 pm local time. The pontiff was presented with a selection of traditional gifts, including a handwoven woollen blanket and a traditional set of gaucho horse tack.
“His stamina is fantastic. The way that he’s singing is incredible. And you can only sing if your lungs are really strong,” Maria Montserrat Alvar, the Vatican’s new communications chief, said.
“His doctors are very confident and he’ll have plenty of medical care on board should something happen, but we don’t see that in his prognosis or even in the way that he’s acting,” she added.
In Uruguay, Leo will meet with President Yamandú Orsi before delivering a welcome address to government officials and diplomats. He will also preside over Vespers at the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. Visits to the cities of Paysandú and Florida are planned for the coming days.
Leo will then head on to Argentina, where he is due to visit Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján. In Peru, the pontiff is scheduled to appear in Chiclayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa.
The trip comes weeks after the 71-year-old underwent lung cancer surgery.
