A little over two weeks remain before the longest trip of Leo XIV's pontificate. Between 6 and 17 November 2026, the pope will travel through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru: 12 days and 10 cities — three Uruguayan, three Argentine and four Peruvian — from Montevideo to Lima. It is his sixth foreign trip and the first to South America.
The journey was announced on 5 August, and the official programme was published on 21 September. On Thursday, Peruvian authorities showed the progress of works at the Las Palmas air base in Lima, where the mass closing the tour will be held, while the Conferencia Episcopal Peruana (Peru's bishops' conference) reported on the logistics of the visit.
"Me llena de alegría regresar al continente en el que he vivido tantos momentos de mi vida" — "it fills me with joy to return to the continent where I have lived so many moments of my life" — the pope wrote on social media when confirming the Argentine leg. Born in Chicago, he was a missionary in Peru and bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
Uruguay: 6 to 8 November
Under the motto "Les anuncio una gran alegría" ("I bring you news of a great joy"), the Uruguayan leg covers Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida. It includes a visit to the Casavalle neighbourhood and the parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, a meeting with the education sector at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay, and a prayer vigil at the Estadio Centenario.
On Sunday the 8th, before leaving, the pope will celebrate mass at the Catedral Basílica de Florida, the national shrine of the Virgen de los Treinta y Tres, on her feast day. No pope had visited Uruguay since John Paul II in 1988.
Argentina: 8 to 11, with three days of holiday
The Argentine leg, under the motto "Bienvenidos todos. Vayan y anuncien" ("Everyone is welcome. Go and proclaim"), is the only one with times published in detail. Leo XIV lands on Sunday the 8th at 4.30pm at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, arriving from Montevideo; he will pay homage at the San Martín monument, meet President Javier Milei at the Casa Rosada (the seat of the Argentine government) and, at 6.30pm, receive officials, the diplomatic corps and civil society at the Palacio Libertad.
- Monday the 9th: a visit to the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole; mass at 11.30am at the Monumento de los Españoles; a meeting with representatives of the world of work at the UCA in Puerto Madero; a meeting with religious leaders at the Palacio San Martín; and vespers at the Metropolitan Cathedral at 6.45pm.
- Tuesday the 10th: a flight to Córdoba at 7.30am, mass at 10am at the Escuela de Aviación Militar, a meeting with clergy and pastoral workers at the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción and, back in Buenos Aires, a vigil with young people at 8.15pm.
- Wednesday the 11th: a visit to the Complejo Penitenciario Federal in Devoto, mass at 10am at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Luján and a farewell ceremony at Ezeiza at 1.30pm, half an hour before the flight to Lima.
A decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) signed by Milei declared a national holiday on Monday the 9th; a holiday in the City of Buenos Aires and the province of Córdoba on Tuesday the 10th; and one in the province of Buenos Aires on Wednesday the 11th. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno confirmed the meeting with Milei and announced a decree declaring the visit to be of national interest. It is the first papal trip to Argentina since 1987 — and the first to Francis's home country since his death.
Peru: 11 to 17, the longest leg
Peru hosts the pope for almost a week, under the motto "Abramos el corazón" ("Let us open our hearts"), with stops in Lima, Chiclayo, Cuzco and Pucallpa. A visit to Zaña, where Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo died, is also planned.
The closing mass at Las Palmas carries the heaviest logistical expectations: tickets will be handed out between 5 and 8 November, with a limit of eight per person.
That the Peruvian leg is the longest of the three is not a scheduling detail: it is the country where the pope spent much of his adult life, and the only stop on the tour he returns to as a former neighbour rather than only as a visitor.
With information from Vatican News, Infobae, La República and EFE.
