Pope Leo XIV began this Friday your trip to Latin America to visit Uruguay, Argentina and return to Peru, a country where he lived for 20 years, in a demanding 12-day journey in which he will take 14 flights, give nearly 40 speeches and all less than a month after the operation in which part of a lung was removed for cancer.
The papal flight of the Ita Airways company took off at 7:05 a.m. (6:05 GMT) with the Vatican delegation and 80 journalists from media around the world, among them EFE, and is scheduled to arrive at the Montevideo international airport at 4:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. GMT), where he will be received by the Uruguayan president, Yamandú Orsi.
The Vatican confirmed that no additional medical measures have been taken despite the operation, since the Pope after the removal of the cancer “is a person, 71 years old, in good health”, but the trip will be a test to see his resistance to the significant workload.
On the eve of the trip, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin explained to the Vatican media the meaning of this trip: “Even in Latin America, there is more than ever the need to overcome deep social polarizations, and The primary mission of the Church is to bear witness to unity, to be a ferment of peace, dialogue and harmony.“.
After landing after nearly 13 hours of flight, The Pope will participate in the official welcome ceremony in Plaza Independencia and will hold a meeting with the authorities, representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps, before whom he will deliver his first speech in the country.
In the afternoon, the Pope will go to the cathedral to celebrate vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious and seminarians and on Saturday the day will begin with a flight to Paysandú, where he will celebrate Holy Mass in the Paris London Park.
For Parolin, the secularization of societies, including Uruguay, in which more than 40% of the population declares themselves without religion, “is unfortunately a reality”, but “this does not alter the mission of the Church: proclaiming the Gospel, at all times, continues to be its task, today as yesterday.”
“To the Church in Uruguay, small in number but vibrant, which preserves the faith in a context that is not always easy, the Holy Father wants to tell you that you are not alone and that your daily, humble and joyful witness is the path through which the Gospel can speak once again to the heart of the country,” he added.
While regarding the stage in Argentina, the Vatican Secretary of State observed that “Leo XIV will arrive in a land that keeps a particularly vivid memory of Pope Francis, remembered with gratitude not only in his own country, but in the entire Church and in the hearts of so many men and women everywhere.”
“I think he will want to pay tribute to him and, in some way, fulfill a deep-rooted desire of the Argentines: to welcome the Successor of Peter, given that Pope Francis, unfortunately, was not able to visit them during his pontificate,” he added.
While returning home, to Peru, noted that the Pope “returns to Peru as Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter and Pastor of the universal Church, and this is a great gift for many who knew and loved him.”
