Pope Leo XIV’s 12-day tour of Latin America is well-underway, with the Pope making a swift recovery after lung cancer surgery in October.

He began his tour in Uruguay on 6 November, where 30,000 gathered in Plaza Independencia in Montevideo, for his official welcome.  Here he received the keys to the city and celebrated Mass at the Parque Paris Londres in Paysandu.

He is now in Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina and the home country of the late Pope Francis, who served as Archbishop there until he became Pope in 2013.  It is the second stage of his three-country journey.

He visted Plaza San Martin, named after Jose de San Martin, one of the principal leaders of South America’s independence movements and national hero in Argentina, Peru and Chile.  Yesterday, 2.5 million worshippers from across Argentina, gathered for a vast Public Mass at Monumento de los Españoles. and he prayed before a memorial to his predecessor, Pope Francis in Buenos Aires cathedral.

Today he is in Cordoba to celebrate Holy Mass at the Military Aviation School before travelling to Peru tomorrow. It is the final  stop on the tour where he’ll remain until 17 November. The visit will be particularly poignant for the Chicago-born Pontiff. He spent two decades in the country, first as a young Augustinian missionary and later as a bishop. Planned stops include the capital Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa.