Pope Leo XIV’s Latin America Trip!
Papal Plane, Nov 6 (EFE).-
Pope Leo XIV embarked on his trip to Latin America on Friday to visit Uruguay and Argentina, and return to Peru, a country where he lived for 20 years.
The demanding 12-day journey will involve 14 flights, nearly 40 speeches, and comes less than a month after surgery to remove part of a lung due to cancer.
The flight, operated by Ita Airways, took off at 7.05am with the Vatican delegation and 80 journalists from media outlets around the world, including EFE.
It is scheduled to arrive at Montevideo’s international airport at 4.30pm local time, where the Pope will be received by President Yamandú Orsi.
The Vatican confirmed that no additional medical measures have been taken despite the operation, as after the removal of the cancer, the Pope “is a 71-year-old in good health.” However, the trip will be a test of his stamina under the heavy workload.
On the eve of the trip, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said that “in Latin America too, there is a greater need than ever to overcome deep social polarization, and the Church’s first mission is to bear witness to unity, becoming a leaven of peace, dialogue, and harmony.”
Following a nearly 13-hour flight, the Pope will participate in the official welcoming ceremony in Independence Square and will meet with authorities, representatives of civil society, and the diplomatic corps, before whom he will deliver his first address in the country.
In the afternoon, he will go to the cathedral to celebrate Vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, religious men and women, and seminarians.
On Saturday, he will begin the day with a flight to Paysandú, where he will celebrate Holy Mass in Paris-London Park.
For Parolin, the secularization of societies, including Uruguayan society, where more than 40 percent of the population declares itself without religion, “is unfortunately a fact,” but that it “does not change the Church’s mission. Proclaiming the Gospel, in season and out of season, remains her task, today as in the past.”
“To the Church in Uruguay, small in numbers but vibrant, preserving the faith in a setting that is not always easy, the Holy Father wants to say that its members are not alone and that their humble, joyful daily witness is the way through which the Gospel can once again speak to the heart of the country,” he added.
Regarding the visit to Argentina, the Vatican’s secretary of state observed that “Pope Leo XIV will arrive in a country that preserves a particularly vivid memory of Pope Francis, remembered with gratitude in his own country, throughout the Church, and in the hearts of so many men and women around the world.”
“I believe he will wish to pay tribute to him and, in some way, respond to a hope Argentinians have long carried in their hearts, that of welcoming the Successor of Peter, since Pope Francis was unfortunately unable to make a visit during his pontificate,” he added.
Regarding the Pope’s return home to Peru, he noted that the Pope “returns to Peru as Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and Pastor of the universal Church. This is a great gift for the many people who have known and loved him.” EFE
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