Vatican City
AP
Pope Leo XIV will make his first trip to Latin America as pontiff in November, returning to a region where he spent much of his ministry, with visits to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the Vatican announced Wednesday.
Pope Leo XIV delivers a blessing in St Peter’s Basilica, on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, on Wednesday, 5th August, 2026. PICTURE: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
The 6th to 17th November trip will include stops in Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida in Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján in Argentina; and Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa in Peru.
The visit is especially significant because of Leo’s longstanding ties to Peru. The first US-born Pope spent decades there as a missionary and church leader and served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He also holds Peruvian citizenship.
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His return to Chiclayo, the diocese he led before his election, is expected to be one of the key moments of the trip.
Leo will also visit Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, late Pope Francis. Despite repeated invitations, Francis, the first Latin American pope, never returned to Argentina during his 12-year papacy.
The Vatican said Leo will be in Uruguay from 6th to 8th November, Argentina from 8th to 11th November and Peru from 11th to 17th November. A detailed itinerary will be released later.
The Latin America trip will follow Leo’s 25th to 28th September visit to France, his first trip to the country as pope and part of an increasingly active travel schedule in the early months of his pontificate.