The pontiff’s first Latin America journey will take him again to Peru, the place he spent a long time as a missionary and bishop.
Printed On 5 Aug 2026
Pope Leo XIV will return to the area that formed a lot of his ministry, making his first journey to Latin America as head of the Catholic Church in November.
The Vatican introduced on Wednesday that Leo will journey to the three South American international locations — Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — from November 6 to 17.
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Pope Leo’s cease in Peru is particularly important. He spent a long time, on and off, within the Andean nation, first as a missionary and later as a bishop for the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru.
The journey can even mark the primary papal go to to Argentina and Uruguay in practically 40 years.
The itinerary contains stops within the cities of Montevideo, Paysandu and Florida in Uruguay from November 6 to eight; Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Lujan in Argentina from November 8 to 11; and Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa in Peru from November 11 to 17. Extra particulars concerning the pope’s itinerary shall be launched nearer to the journey.
Pope Leo’s return to Chiclayo is prone to be one of the vital emotional moments of the tour.
Though born in Chicago, Pope Leo first arrived in Peru in 1985 at age 30. Over the following three a long time, he moved between america and Peru as a missionary.
In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him to the Diocese of Chiclayo. He turned a Peruvian citizen the next 12 months and led the diocese till 2023.
Upon his election as pope in 2025, he thanked the diocese in his inaugural handle — and the town embraced him as the primary “papa chiclayano”, the primary pope from Chiclayo. 1000’s of individuals gathered in Chiclayo’s essential sq. to celebrate the outcomes of the papal conclave.
The Argentina leg of the go to can be closely symbolic. Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was born in Argentina however by no means returned to his dwelling nation throughout his 12-year papacy, regardless of repeated invites from a number of presidents.
Pope Francis made his ultimate journey to South America in 2018, when he visited Peru and Chile. Pope Leo will develop into the primary pope to go to Argentina since John Paul II travelled there in 1987.
Latin America and the Caribbean are thought of the areas with the biggest Catholic populations.
In a survey of non secular distribution in 2013, the Pew Analysis Heart indicated that 39 % of the world’s Catholics had been positioned in Latin America and the Caribbean, in comparison with 24 % in Europe, the following largest area.
However the Catholic Church is grappling with declining affect throughout Latin America. Polling by the general public opinion agency Latinobarometro discovered the share of individuals within the area who determine as Catholic fell from about 80 % in 1995 to 54 % in 2024. Evangelical Christianity, in the meantime, has seen its affect develop within the area.
Since assuming the papacy, Pope Leo has ramped up his worldwide journey schedule.
Earlier than heading to South America, he is because of go to France from September 25 to twenty-eight, his first journey to the nation as pope, and he visited 4 African international locations, in addition to Spain, earlier this 12 months.
