Pope Leo XIV Cleared as Clinically Fit for Americas Trip
Three weeks after lung surgery, the Holy See says he will travel with ordinary medical assistance to celebrate nine Masses across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
At a Vatican Press Office briefing on Nov. 3, 2026, director Matteo Bruni said Pope Leo XIV is “clinically fit to undertake this trip,” adding that “based on what the doctors have told us — no therapy is required.” The Holy Father will travel with “the ordinary medical assistance” and without special equipment.
Bruni stressed that the lung cancer surgery performed on Oct. 13 “does not create a permanent condition” and allows people “to go about life without needing any particular precautions.” He recalled that Pope Francis, who had part of a lung removed, continued to travel without disruption. The pope’s Oct. 26 statement, Bruni noted, was clear that “the plan is as it is,” with no changes to the schedule. No formal medical bulletin was released; the fitness assessment was conveyed by Bruni.
First Laywoman Prefect Echoes Confidence
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication since Nov. 1 and the first laywoman to hold the post, said the pope’s “stamina is fantastic.” She pointed to his singing at the Nov. 2 All Souls’ Mass at Rome’s Campo Verano Cemetery: “you can only sing if your lungs are really strong.” His doctors, she added, “are very confident.”
The Nov. 6–17 journey is the first papal visit to Latin America of the pontificate. It lasts 12 days and includes nine public Masses, seven cathedrals, two stadium prayer vigils, and about 36 speeches. The itinerary opens in Uruguay with arrival on Nov. 6 and a Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three on Nov. 8, continues into Argentina the same day, and concludes in Peru at Chiclayo, where Leo XIV served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.
The Rome–Montevideo flight covers some 6,900 miles. A military helicopter flight to the Andean town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba is planned for Nov. 14. Alvarado framed the voyage as both a homecoming to Peru—where the future pope first arrived in 1985—and a call to “share his message of peace and encounter with the world,” centered on healing, dialogue, and peace. She also expected “a lot of improvised texts,” calling that “a beautiful thing.”
The confirmation comes as the Church looks to the Successor of Peter to strengthen communion in lands long marked by faith and by the need for reconciliation.