// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Pope begins lengthy trip to Latin America weeks after lung cancer surgery
Pope Leo is travelling to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru
Pope Leo XIV is beginning a lengthy trip to Latin America just three weeks after surgery for lung cancer - a tour that includes a much-anticipated "homecoming" to Peru where he was a priest for many years.
The Vatican says no extraordinary measures are being taken in relation to the Pope's health, describing him as a "71-year-old who has undergone an operation" not someone with a "permanent medical condition".
It was Leo himself who revealed last month that doctors had discovered a tumour during a routine scan. The growth was removed along with the lower lobe of his right lung and his medical team then confirmed the cancer had not spread.
At a briefing in Rome ahead of the trip, which takes in Uruguay and Argentina as well as Peru, a spokeswoman stressed that Pope Leo had "fantastic stamina" and was "extremely enthusiastic" about the schedule which he had "personally confirmed... with no changes".
"The Vatican's message with this trip is, 'that was a short episode and now we're back on track'," Professor Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University told the BBC, pointing out that the Pope has had a busy return to work since his surgery.
"We have seen him in these last few days making speeches, audiences and so on. He seems in great shape. That was important."
On Friday Pope Leo presided over the annual memorial Mass for cardinals and bishops who have died
The 12-day tour would be demanding for anyone, though. It incorporates multiple long-haul and local flights and covers thousands of miles from the Amazon to the Andes.
The starting point will be Uruguay, where the number of Catholics has fallen away steeply in recent years and which is getting its first Papal visit in four decades.