World Church · November 8, 2026
Pope Leo XIV to Visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in Journey of Listening and Unity
Pope Leo XIV will travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to November 17 in his sixth international Apostolic Journey, a visit described as a time of listening, encounter and blessed unity. The trip marks nearly forty years since the last papal visits to Uruguay and Argentina, while representing a personal return for the Pope to Peru, where he served as a missionary and bishop. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, stated that this journey holds special significance as a period dedicated to listening and meeting people. The central themes include the role of the Church in transformed societies, defense of human dignity, care for the most vulnerable and building the common good.
The twelve-day itinerary will feature thirty-six speeches delivered entirely in Spanish, the language used throughout all encounters with communities and authorities across the three nations. This will be the seventh journey of the pontificate when including the earlier visit to San Marino. The last Pope to visit Uruguay and Argentina was John Paul II, who traveled to Argentina in 1982 and 1987 for World Youth Day, and visited Uruguay in 1987 and again in 1988. John Paul II also visited Peru in 1985 and 1988, while Pope Francis traveled to Peru in 2018. For Leo XIV, returning to Peru carries deep personal and pastoral meaning given his extensive service there.
The journey begins on Friday, November 6 in Uruguay, a nation with strong secular identity yet deep Christian roots. In Montevideo, meetings with authorities at Plaza Independencia, a symbolic site of national history, will provide opportunity to reflect on coexistence, social cohesion and responsibility to build communities recognizing every person's dignity. As headquarters of Mercosur, the Uruguayan capital also highlights regional challenges ranging from environmental protection to arms and drug trafficking. On Saturday, November 7, the Pope will encounter diverse realities from Paysandú to Casavalle, engaging with education sectors and faithful gathered for prayer vigils, showcasing the Church's contribution to societal life.
Sunday, November 8 initiates the Argentine stage beginning in Buenos Aires with meetings at Casa Rosada. At the capital's cathedral, a moment honoring Pope Francis's memory is planned at a location preserving testimonies of his connection to the Argentine Church. Argentina, marked by painful history yet also by capacity for welcome and democratic reconstruction, offers opportunity to address relationships between faith, social responsibility and common good. Significant commitments include visiting the Little Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole where the Church cares for most vulnerable persons. The schedule includes meetings with labor representatives, Christian communities, other religious traditions, youth, bishops and synodal teams. Special attention will be given to encounters with prisoners, demonstrating pastoral care recognizing every person's possibility of new beginnings. The Argentine stage concludes at the Shrine of Our Lady of Luján, center of popular devotion deeply connected also to Pope Francis's memory.
The final pilgrimage segment focuses on Peru, where Leo XIV will revisit places and communities he knows profoundly from Lima to Chiclayo, Cusco to Pucallpa. This journey traces continental evangelization history marked by witnesses like Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Martin de Porres and Saint Toribio of Mogrovejo, who promoted catechism distribution in indigenous Quechua and Aymara languages. Peru will highlight contemporary issues including social inequalities, protection of peoples and environment, natural resource exploitation and technological transformation consequences. These themes may reference the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas regarding faith-science relationships and charity-technology connections. Throughout the itinerary runs a call to holiness understood not as distant ideal but as personal and communal responsibility. Mottos chosen by each nation reflect this perspective: I announce to you great joy in Uruguay; Welcome all, go and announce in Argentina; Let us open the heart in Peru.