The Vatican has confirmed Leo XIV’s journey to South America in November, with the voyage taking in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru over the course of eleven days.
Much rumoured over the course of many months, Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to South America has now been finally confirmed by the Vatican, via the Holy See Press Office bulletin on July 5.
Though full details of the itinerary will be published closer to time, certain locations and dates have been provided by the Vatican.
From November 6 to 8, Leo will visit Uruguay, taking in the cities of Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida. Statistics vary regarding the Catholic population of the country, due to lack of recent polling. The nation itself is officially secular, but Catholics are believed to comprise around 40% of the nearly 3.5 million strong population, although a high proportion of those are self-professed rather than practicing Catholics.
Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo is the nation’s highest ranking prelate, having led the country’s only archdiocese since 2012. The country has not seen a papal visit since John Paul II’s two visits in 1987 and 1988.
Next on the calendar is Argentina, from November 8 until 11. During this section of the voyage, Leo will visit the three cities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján. The majority Catholic nation sees a similar disparity between those who describe themselves as Catholic and those who actually practice. Catholics are rapidly dropping in numbers to now comprise around 57% of the nation’s 46 million population. Estimates vary, but reports suggest just 20% actually practice the faith. John Paul II visited the nation in 1982 and 1987.
It is a trip which comes with great anticipation given that Pope Francis avoided making a visit to his home nation throughout his entire pontificate. This caused much discussion among critics of the late pope, although such conversation was not officially given mainstream attention until after his death. Early in Leo’s pontificate he identified Argentina as being owed a papal visit, with the Catholic Herald analysing at the start of the year that – given the new Pope’s emerging sensibilities – he would likely include Argentina as part of a voyage marking both his and his predecessor’s South American connections.
Finally, Leo will return to Peru in what will likely be the peak of the trip in many ways. As Robert Prevost, he served as bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, becoming a naturalised Peruvian citizen in the process. Prior to that he also served as an Augustinian missionary in Peru from 1985 until 1988.
Leo has emphasised the role his missionary years in Peru played in his own formation, and the warm welcome which will be afforded to him there will likely be placed under intense scrutiny by commentators disappointed that the Pope did not visit the United States during its 250th anniversary year.
By far the longest section of the South America trip, Leo will be in Peru from November 11 to 17, visiting the cities of Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa in the process. Of Peru’s nearly 35 million people, some 67% describe themselves as Catholic – which is yet another nation seeing an increasing drop in numbers of Catholics. In welcoming the Pope, Peruvian Catholics will thus receive two popes in a row: John Paul visited in 1985 and 1988, while Francis visited in 2018.
As Herald readers will have been aware, news of the multi-nation voyage had been an increasingly open secret for many months. Local outlets then anticipated the Vatican’s announcement with the precise dates by just a few hours.
Leo’s energetic papacy has included a number of trips so far, including the immensely demanding African voyage which saw Leo journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea from April 13 to 23.
Pope John Paul II is largely responsible for defining the modern era of papal travel, and making foreign journeys an expected aspect of the papacy. Leo has certainly followed suit in this regard, and the scenes of a papal voyage bring much media attention and intense activity from the host nations at the time. However some Vatican sources have told the Herald about their concerns that an undue focus on international travel diverts both the Pope and Curial officials from addressing serious issues closer to home in the Church.
As has often been the case, international trips play a key role in the public perception of a pontiff and Leo is no different. He was widely viewed as having found his papal voice during two main events: the Jubilee of Youth in August last year and his trip to Lebanon in November.
More precise details will be released by the Holy See in the coming weeks, and country-specific insights will be published by the Herald in due course.
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.
