Full details of Pope Leo XIV’s mammoth voyage to South America have been released by the Vatican, showing the Pontiff is due to take 14 flights and travel over 19,000 miles during the course of the 12 days.

It is a demanding schedule which Leo is set to undertake in November, encompassing the countries of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Though slow in some areas of his pontificate, Leo appears to have begun his reign with a keen desire to travel as much as possible, and the upcoming 12-day trip to South America will be a test of stamina if nothing else. Only two days are without flights in the entire trip, with Leo’s schedule involving numerous national plane journeys to reach different corners of the Church. (Find the Catholic Herald’s full preview and background of the trip here)

Each country is treated as a distinct stage, with the Vatican publishing separate logos and mottos for Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. These focus on highlighting the enthusiasm of local Catholics at Leo’s arrival, along with key themes of fostering fraternity and peace. Argentina, for instance – included on the trip almost as a courtesy to Catholics aggrieved at the lack of a papal visit from Pope Francis – has a motto that draws very much from the late pope’s famous phrase of “Todos, todos, todos.” The motto being “Welcome, everyone. Go and spread the word.”

Meanwhile Peru’s leg of the voyage – by far the longest country-stop – emphasises themes of renewal of faith, fraternity building, peace seeking and evangelisation.  

In total, Leo will celebrate nine public Masses on the trip, participate in three prayer vigils, meet with the respective bishops’ conferences and synodal teams and also conduct a meeting with missionaries and representatives of the Amazon peoples.

Uruguay: November 6 – 8

Departing from Rome early in the morning on November 6, Leo will make the fourteen-and-a-half-hour flight to Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo. Allowing no time for adapting to the time change or dealing with jet lag, Leo will take receipt of his official welcome before heading to the Plaza Independencia to meet with politicians and civil authorities – a customary such meeting on the first day of a papal voyage.  

The Pope will meet privately with President Yamandú Orsi before presiding over his first liturgical ceremony – Vespers in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Saints Philip and James.

On November 7 he will fly to Paysandú to celebrate Mass, before then returning to Montevideo for three events: meeting with Catholic parishioners, addressing the Catholic University of Uruguay and an evening prayer vigil.  

For the morning of November 8, Leo will offer Mass at the national shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, declared by Pope Pius XI as the patroness of Uruguay.

Argentina: November 8 – 11

Leaving Montevideo straight after his morning Mass, Leo will make a short flight to land Buenos Aires in the afternoon. The first meetings are as customary: a large encounter with the politicians and civil authorities and a speech from Leo, before a private audience between the Pope and President Javier Milei.  

His first full day in Pope Francis’ native land on November 9 will see Leo visit a centre for people with disabilities, offer Mass outdoors at the “Monumento de los Españoles” and visiting the Catholic University of Argentina. The Pope will round out the day by meeting Christian leaders and representatives of other creeds, before offering Vespers with bishops and synodal teams at the Cathedral of Most Holy Trinity and then a joint dinner with the national episcopate.  

The next day, Leo will fly to Córdoba to offer Mass in the grounds of the Military Aviation School and then meet with clergy and religious at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, before returning to Buenos Aires for a prayer vigil with the youth in the evening.  

November 11 begins with a papal visit to Buenos Aires’ prison, followed by an outdoor Mass in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, after which Leo makes his way to the airport once more.  

Peru: November 11 – 16

Arguably the most eagerly anticipated leg of the journey will see Leo return to Peru, the land which has laid claim to the Pope as much as the United States. Arriving in Lima in the afternoon, Leo will visit President Keiko Fujimori before meeting civil authorities and politicians at the Gran Teatro Nacional.  

Beginning the next day by meeting Peru’s bishops at the archbishop’s palace in Lima, Leo will then join clergy, religious and synodal teams for prayer in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist. Straight afterward, he will participate in a meeting on the “challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people” outside the cathedral. A prayer vigil with young people will take place in the early evening, after which Leo will meet with Peruvian bishops once more for a shared dinner.  

On November 13 he will fly to Chiclayo, the diocese he led from 2015 to 2023, becoming a naturalised Peruvian citizen in the process. First celebrating Mass outdoors near the Pampas de Pimentel, Leo will visit the newly reconstructed Saint Óscar Romero chapel. After lunch, the Pope will meet with clergy and synodal teams at the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace, followed by a visit to the Catholic University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo and then a dinner with Chiclayo’s diocesan clergy.  

The following day, Leo will celebrate a rite of coronation of Mary in the Cathedral of Saint Mary before taking a helicopter to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba to offer Mass. Returning in the afternoon to Chiclayo, the Pope will participate in a prayer meeting marking the 425th anniversary of the death of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, the archbishop of Lima and patron of the Latin American episcopate.

On November 15, the penultimate day of Leo’s time Peru, he will find himself jumping around the nation taking three separate flights over the course of the day. Leaving Chiclayo for Cusco International Airport he will first meet with representatives of popular devotion at the Saqsaywaman National Archaeological Park. Next he will lead the Angelus outside the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary before then flying north to Pucallpa. Here he will meet with missionaries and representatives of the Amazon peoples and offer Mass, before flying back to Lima.  

Starting the morning of his last day south of the Equator, Leo will visit a homeless shelter for the aged on November 16 and then offer Mass at Las Palmas Air Base. Straight afterwards, he will make his way to the Callao Naval Air Base for the formal departure ceremony ahead of his nearly 15-hour flight back to Rome.  

Full analysis ahead of the voyage will be forthcoming on the Catholic Herald, along with blow by blow coverage on the trip itself.

Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.