Pope Leo sets off on 12-day South America tour

The plane carrying Pope Leo XIV to South America for the beginning of his almost two-week tour set off from Rome on Friday.

Following a 13-and-a-half-hour flight, the pontiff is set to land in Uruguay, where he will spend three days before heading on to Argentina, and finally Peru.

The 71-year-old US-born pope is recovering from a lung cancer surgery that took place just three weeks ago.

Latin America is home to around 40% of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, for whom the pope is their spiritual leader. However, fewer and fewer people on the continent identify as Catholic.

What is Pope Leo planning for his visit to Uruguay?

Pope Leo's first leg of the tour takes him to Uruguay, the most secular Latin American country.

It was the first country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use and has since legalized abortion, same-sex marriage and assisted dying, all against opposition from the Catholic Church.

However, the enthusiasm around Leo's visit has come as a bit of a surprise, with tickets for his prayer vigil at Montevideo's Centenario Stadium selling out in just two days.

The trip will begin with a meeting with President Yamandu Orsi, leader of a center-left alliance. He is also planning to visit the Casavalle neighborhood, which is notorious for its high rates of poverty and violence.

With the first papal visit to Uruguay since 1988, Leo will be hoping to reinvigorate the faith in a country where only a fraction of believers attend Mass.

What will Pope Leo do in Argentina?

On Sunday, Leo will cross over to neighboring Argentina, the home of his papal predecessor Francis, who, however, disappointed his native compatriots by never returning home as pope.

At the beginning of Francis's papacy, some 71% of Argentinians identified as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2024, this had fallen to 58%.

Leo is set to meet with Argentinian President Javier Milei, who has come under criticism from the Catholic Church for his sweeping cuts that have hampered programs for the poor and needy.

He is also planning to meet with business leaders, trade unions, workers and social representatives.

Pope Leo to return to Peru

The final leg of the trip, on Wednesday, will see Leo return to Peru, where he lived and preached for two decades.

There is excitement about his visit to Peru, with the pope planning to celebrate Mass in his old diocese of Chiclayo as well as in the mountain village of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba.

The pope will also celebrate Mass in the former Incan capital city of Cusco before honoring Peru's indigenous population by traveling to Pucallpa in the Peruvian Amazon.

The excitement can be seen in the street vendors selling T-shirts and rosaries with his likeness, while bakeries have been selling Leo bread.

Peru has also seen a weakening of the faithful in recent years, with the Catholic population falling from 76% in 2013-2014 to around 67% now.