Pope Leo XIV arrived in Montevideo on Friday to begin a 12-day visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, less than a month after surgery for lung cancer^1,2,4.

Speaking to reporters on the flight, he said he was in fairly good health and had been convinced from the first day that the journey should go ahead^1,2. France 24, citing AFP, said doctors had cleared him to travel and the Vatican said no special medical measures were needed beyond standard papal-trip care².

MercoPress said the plane landed at 4:19 p.m. at Carrasco Airport, where President Yamandú Orsi and Cardinal Daniel Sturla met him³. He rode a popemobile along the waterfront to Plaza Independencia, received the key to the city and visited the cathedral^1,3.

In remarks to Uruguayan authorities, he praised Mercosur and environmental stewardship and said everyone deserves care until the natural end of life, language MercoPress treated as a critique of abortion — legal in Uruguay since 2012 — and euthanasia, legalized in 2025³. BBC said he also spoke about universal healthcare after his own treatment¹.

France 24 reported he said he had cast a mail-in ballot in this week’s U.S. midterm elections². He is scheduled to go to Argentina on Sunday, then Peru, which he has called one of his homes after years as a missionary and bishop, and to return to Rome on Nov. 16^2,3.

How he tolerates the remaining schedule, and whether the health comments change, will be visible as the tour continues^2,4.