South American Churches welcome confirmation of papal visit in November

The Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum that the Pope is ‘eager’ to visit her country, during a meeting on 5 August in Mexico City.

Church leaders in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru welcomed the confirmation of Pope Leo’s apostolic journey on 6-17 November.

“Welcome, Pope Leo! Uruguay awaits you with open arms and an open heart,” said the bishops of Uruguay in a statement. The Pope will arrive in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo on 6 November and later visit Paisandú and Florida.

All nine of Uruguay’s bishops appear in a video welcoming the Pope, ahead of a visit nearly 40 years after John Paul II visited Uruguay in 1987 and 1988. “This historic visit will be a joy for all of our people,” said the Bishop of Salto Arturo Fajardo.

On 8 November, Pope Leo will arrive in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where the new apostolic nuncio relayed a message to the people of Argentina last week.

At a Mass inaugurating his mission at the Cathedral of Buenos Aires on the Feast of the Transfiguration on 6 August, Archbishop Michael W. Banach said: “The Pope asked me to tell you two things. First, God loves you. Secondly, Pope Leo also loves you. God wants to show you his love and his mercy. That’s a simple message but what a great one!”

Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei described the papal visit as “historic for all Argentines”. Some welcomed Leo XIV’s visit as a sign of divine favour at a time of economic austerity owing to Milei’s reforms.

“The country is going through a difficult time; there are many brothers and sisters in need,” Santiago Olave, 60, told the Associated Press, referring to the impact of Milei’s cuts. “The Pope can open hearts and minds.”

Pope Leo will also visit the Argentine cities of Córdoba and Luján, the national shrine of the Virgin Mary. The Church in Argentina – which John Paul II also visited in 1987 – has launched an appeal for donations to fund the visit.

On 11 November, the Pope will visit Peru, where he held dual citizenship and served as a bishop. He will visit his former diocese of Chiclayo in north-west Peru, as well as the capital Lima, Cuzco and Pucallpa.

Pope Leo’s personal secretary Mgr Edgard Rimaycuna, a priest of the Diocese of Chiclayo, celebrated a Mass on Sunday at its cathedral where he previously served as parish vicar. He delivered “warm greetings and a special blessing” from the Pope and asked parishioners to pray for the preparations for his visit.

The president of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Carlos García Camader of Lurín, said Pope Leo’s presence would be “a real gift for our people and a chance to renew our faith, strengthen our hope and walk together as a Church at the service of the Gospel”.

Last week, the current Bishop of Chiclayo Edinson Farfán Córdova announced that the diocese will open a cause for the canonisation of Mgr Juan Tomis Stack, a US-born missionary who served in northern Peru from 1963 until his death in 1986.

“How beautiful that he was born in those lands. He came from the United States to serve these communities in Santa Cruz – in the highlands – and later in our beloved Chiclayo, which holds him so dear,” said Bishop Farfán, announcing the plans at a Mass on 4 August.

“I pray, through the intercession of St John Vianney, that we may begin this process with joy, gratitude and hope.”

Elsewhere, the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum that the Pope is “eager” to visit her country, during a meeting on 5 August at the National Palace in Mexico City, the headquarters of the Mexican government.

Sheinbaum reported that they had discussed artificial intelligence and Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.

“The Pope’s calls for peace, fraternity, and closeness to the most vulnerable represent a humanitarian vision that is indispensable at a time when the world needs to strengthen dialogue, solidarity, and cooperation among nations,” she said.

No date for a potential visit to Mexico has been established but Sheinbaum indicated it would not happen before Mexico’s mid-term federal and state elections in June 2027.

On 9 August, a first-class relic of the Mexican martyr St José Luis Sánchez del Río was venerated in New York at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Stony Point.

Known as “Joselito” or “Little Joseph”, Sánchez del Río died aged 14 in 1928 in the Cristero war in Mexico, a Catholic uprising against the government caused by the passing of anti-Church legislation.

A standard-bearer for the Cristeros who did not engage in armed conflict, “Joselito” was imprisoned by government forces and tortured. Pope Francis canonised him in 2016.

Pope Leo to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November

Robert Prevost, the missionary bishop 

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