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Pope Leo XIV Gets Surgeon's Approval for Latin America Trip
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV has received the go-ahead from his surgeon to proceed with his planned apostolic journey to Latin America, which is set to take place from November 6 to 17.
Pope Leo XIV has received the go-ahead from his surgeon to proceed with his planned apostolic journey to Latin America, which is set to take place from November 6 to 17. The trip, which includes visits to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, was initially in jeopardy due to the Pope's recent health scare.
The Pope's lung adenocarcinoma was discovered during routine abdominal examinations, underscoring the importance of regular preventive checkups. Surgeons led by Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the chief thoracic surgeon at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, performed a lobectomy using a video-assisted technique, which the Vatican described as a 'radical' resection to clear all suspect tissue.
Dr. Margaritora stated that there are no clinical reasons why the trip should not take place, calling the Pope 'an ideal patient.' The Pope's determination to recover quickly has been effective, and he is in entirely satisfactory clinical condition, with completely normal blood test results and heart function.
The Pope's recovery timeline coincides with the most emotionally charged papal trip in years. For a pope born in Chicago but shaped by nearly two decades of missionary service in Peru, where he contracted typhoid fever in 1985, the trip holds significant personal and spiritual importance.
The Vatican has published the schedule for the Pope's journey, which includes a visit to Uruguay, where he will be the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II. In Argentina, the Pope will visit the Federal Penitentiary Complex in Buenos Aires, delivering a message of hope to the most vulnerable sectors and marginalized communities.
The Peruvian leg of the trip includes stops in Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa, where the Pope will meet with communities of Amazonian peoples in the department of Ucayali. This initial stop will serve to strengthen ties with the local Church and respond to the Pope's desire to return to Latin America.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski noted that the Pope's years among Peru's poor have positioned him as a pope shaped by the same values that animate Latino Catholic identity in the United States, including immigration, social justice, and the dignity of the marginalized.
Oncologists who reviewed the public details before the operation said the prognosis was 'excellent,' though the Vatican has not yet announced whether additional treatment will follow. The Pope's decision to proceed with the trip is a testament to his commitment to his mission and the importance of the journey for the Latino Catholic community.
What's confirmed
- The surgeon indicated that the Holy Father’s lung adenocarcinoma was discovered during routine abdominal examinations, which underscores the importance of regular preventive checkups.
- The pope has “put his heart and soul” into his recovery, Margaritora said.
- Thursday, the Catholic Church declared Illinois-born Archbishop Fulton Sheen “Blessed” at his Mass of Beatification held at The Dome at America’s Center in St.
- The Vatican has published the schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Latin America, where he will visit Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from Nov. 6–17.
- According to the announcement, the Pope will begin his journey by departing Rome on Nov. 6 at 7:50 a.m.
- At 6:15 p.m., the Pope will pay a courtesy visit to the president of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, at his residence at the Edificio José Artigas.
- Pope Leo XIV is set to be the first pope to visit Uruguay since St.
- Pope Leo XIV has received the green light from his surgeon to proceed with his planned Nov.
- Calling him “an ideal patient,” Margaritora said that upon his discharge from the hospital Leo “was in entirely satisfactory clinical condition” with completely normal blood test results and heart function.
- “In the Holy Father’s case, he had no respiratory symptoms and felt perfectly well,” the doctor noted.
- “His determination to recover quickly has been effective in every respect” and “truly commendable,” he pointed out.
- “The lung’s re-expansion after surgery is proceeding according to the usual timetable,” and “overall, his condition is good,” Margaritora added.
What's still developing
- Leo surfaced the news himself on Sunday, Oct. 11, from the Apostolic Palace window during the Angelus, describing the nodule as detected "at a very early stage."
- Students, faculty, and administrators at The Catholic University of America gathered on Sept. 3, 2026, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the university’s Votive Mass for the Holy Spirit, celebrated annually to mark the start of the academic year.
- The Argentine leg of the trip will also include gestures of significant humanitarian importance, such as the scheduled visit to the Federal Penitentiary Complex in Buenos Aires before departing for the final major nation on the tour.
- Sheen took place at The Dome at America’s Center in St.
- Leo's November 6–17 apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru is the longest trip of his papacy — a grueling circuit of a dozen flights, two helicopter transfers, 10 cities, and a physically demanding altitude shift into Peru's Andean highlands.
- Latino Catholic community — and for hundreds of millions of the faithful across South America who have been waiting 17 months for this moment — the diagnosis threatens to postpone what was never simply a diplomatic tour: it was a homecoming.
- Leo told reporters on Sunday that he intends to make the Latin America journey.