Pope Leo will undertake a significant foreign trip in November, visiting Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru over 11 days. The Vatican announced on Monday that the pope will lead around 50 events during the tour, including speeches, masses, and meetings with local leaders. This trip will be one of the most intense foreign tours by a Catholic leader in decades. The pope will travel approximately 31,000km and give 36 speeches during the tour.
The pope's itinerary includes a visit to a federal prison complex in Buenos Aires, a Mass at the famous Catholic shrine in Lujan, Argentina, and a special address in Lima on the challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people. He will also have dinner with priests in Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023. Pope Leo has Peruvian citizenship and previously spent decades as a missionary in Peru.
Pope Leo will meet with Argentine President Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian seen as a close ally to US President Donald Trump. The pope has previously attracted Trump's ire after criticizing the Iran war. This trip will be Pope Leo's fifth tour outside Italy in 2026, and he will be the first Catholic pope to visit South America since Pope Francis's trip to Chile and Peru in 2018.
Pope Francis, originally from Argentina, never made a visit to his home country as pontiff during his tenure. Before his death in April 2025, Francis made a 12-day tour of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore in September 2024, traveling nearly 33,000km and holding around 30 events. Pope Leo, 71, is relatively young for a pontiff and in good health.
On Monday, Pope Leo urged the development of AI systems that do not foster divisions in society but strengthen peace initiatives. In a message to a conference on AI issues held in Rome, the pope called for the development of AI systems that serve the dignity of every person and strengthen the bonds that unite the human family. This issue has been a major theme of Pope Leo's 16-month-old papacy.
The conference, titled "AI4Peace," was hosted at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University and featured speakers such as US economist Jeffrey Sachs and Rome city council president Svetlana Celli. Pope Leo's brief message was read aloud to attendees by Rev Andrea Ciucci, chancellor of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life. The pope has warned of the risk that AI could lead the world down a path of unending war.
Pope Leo, the first US-born pope, has made addressing the possible dangers of AI development a priority. In his first major document, issued in May, he warned that AI systems spread misinformation and prioritize conflict, urging international regulation of the industry. The pope's trip to South America will be closely watched, given his efforts to promote peace and address global challenges.
Key points
- Pope Leo will travel 31,000km over 10 cities, leading 50 events during his 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.
- The pope will meet with Argentine President Javier Milei and address the challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people.
- Pope Leo has urged the development of AI systems that promote peace and serve the dignity of every person.
