Despite his recent lung surgery, the pope is going ahead with his trip to Peru, a country where he spent 20 years. In Uruguay and Argentina, he could serve as a bridge between the different factions of the Catholic Church.
By Sarah Belouezzane
This trip is more important to Pope Leo XIV than anything else. While his predecessor, Francis, never managed to return to his homeland, Argentina, for fear that his visit would be exploited by the various political factions dividing the country, Leo XIV saw things differently. He felt he had to visit Peru, a country that played a crucial role in his journey: He arrived there as a missionary after being ordained a priest in Rome in the early 1980s. He stayed for more than 20 years. Robert Francis Prevost even became a Peruvian citizen.
Even illness will not keep him from making the journey. On October 26, the doctors who had operated on him nine days earlier – removing a lobe of his lung to contain a malignant tumor – announced that Leo XIV, 71, would be able to carry out his trip as planned: a visit from November 6 to 17 to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he will spend six days. The program, which is very demanding and remains unchanged despite the pope's illness, includes 12 flights, 40 speeches and no fewer than nine giant masses – in Peru, the pope plans to travel to the coast, the Andes and even the Amazon.
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