Today, Pope Leo XIV began an almost two-week trip to South America, DW reports.
He flew from Rome to Uruguay. He will spend three days there, before travelling on to Argentina and later to Peru.
The 71-year-old Pope, who was born in the United States, is currently recovering from lung cancer surgery carried out just three weeks ago.
Latin America is home to around 40% of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, for whom the Pope is a spiritual leader. However, fewer and fewer people on the continent identify as Catholic.
The first stop on Pope Leo’s itinerary was Uruguay — the most secular country in Latin America. This is the Pope’s first visit to the country since 1988.
Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise recreational marijuana use. Later, abortion, same-sex marriage and assisted dying were also legalised here — all despite opposition from the Catholic Church.
At the same time, the buzz surrounding the Vatican leader’s visit came as something of a surprise: tickets for a prayer vigil with his participation at Montevideo’s “Centenario” Stadium sold out in just two days.
The trip will begin with a meeting with President Yamandú Orsi — the leader of a centre-left alliance. He also plans to visit the Casavalle district, known for high levels of poverty and violence.
On Sunday, Leo will cross the border into neighbouring Argentina — the homeland of his predecessor on the papal throne, Francis, who disappointed his compatriots by never returning home after becoming Pope.
According to the Pew Research Center, at the start of Francis’s pontificate around 71% of Argentinians identified as Catholic. By 2024, that figure had fallen to 58%.