ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Pope Leo left on Friday for an ambitious 12-day trip across South America expected to attract millions-strong crowds, as the first US-born pope returns to a Catholic stronghold where he lived for decades as a missionary.
Leo, who is 71 and underwent lung cancer surgery last month, will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru through November 17 on one of the most demanding overseas tours taken by a Catholic leader in decades.
The Vatican said this week that the pope had completely healed from his operation and no special precautions were being taken for the tour, on which Leo will travel some 31,000 km (19,300 miles) across 10 cities and give 36 speeches.
The pope, who was born in Chicago but spent decades in Peru and became a Peruvian citizen, considers the tour a "homecoming to places where he spent a long time and to which he feels closely connected," said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni.
Leo told pilgrims at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday that during the trip he was hoping to "strengthen the faith, renew hope, (and) rekindle the fire of charity".
POPE EXPECTED TO ADDRESS REGIONAL INSTABILITY
The pope, who departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport early on Friday morning, is due to arrive in Uruguay at 4:30 p.m. (1930 GMT). He will stay in the country until Sunday, visiting three cities before continuing on for three days in Argentina and six days in Peru.
Leo, who has forcefully decried the direction of global leadership in recent months, will address the governments in each country in closely watched speeches. He will also lead outdoor Masses at major local sites, visit a prison in Argentina and head to remote Andean communities in Peru by helicopter.
On Sunday, Leo will give an address to Argentine President Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian seen as a close ally to US President Donald Trump, who lambasted Leo earlier this year after the pope criticized the Iran war.
Bruni said the pope's speeches during the tour would address a range of issues facing the continent, including environmental destruction, arms trafficking and regional political instability.
"The pope brings a message of communion and unity, an invitation to recognise one another ... as members of one same family," he said.
The late Pope Francis, who was Leo's predecessor and from Argentina, visited Peru in 2018 but never returned home. A pope has not visited Argentina or Uruguay since the late 1980s.
Argentine officials have said some 7 million people will attend events with Leo.
VATICAN NOT TAKING ADDITIONAL MEDICAL PRECAUTIONS
Latin America has long been the world's largest Catholic region in absolute numbers, but the Church has been losing ground recently to fast-growing evangelical denominations and has struggled to respond to progressive social attitudes and individualized forms of worship.
Local Catholic leaders hope Leo's visit can reenergize the faith across the region and also help repair the Church's standing after abuse scandals have tarnished its reputation.
Leo will hold several meetings with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy during the trip, the Vatican has said, without yet providing further details.
The pope was treated in October forlung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.His doctors have said the disease was localized and hewould not require any further treatments.
Bruni said Leo had recovered enough that no additional medical measures would be necessary during his trip.
Medical experts told Reutersthe decision by Leo's doctors to clear him to fly should indicate the risk of complications from his surgery was low, that his operated lung had fully expanded and any surgical wounds were healing without signs of infection.
They suggested, however, that Leo might need to take rest breaks to deal with the trip's intense itinerary and consider using supplemental oxygen as needed, especially during his high-altitude visits in the Peruvian Andes.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; additional reporting by Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo, Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City, and Marco Aquino in Lima; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
