Pope Leo XIV arrives in Uruguay at start of South American tour less than a month after lung surgery

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay: Three weeks after lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV opened a three-nation tour of Latin America on Friday by declaring he felt better than he looked and crediting God, good doctors and his healthy lifestyle with his quick recovery.

The 71-year-old pope arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, Latin America’s most secular country, after a 13 1/2-hour flight from Rome during which he acknowledged “some people” had doubted whether he could make the grueling, 12-day trip at all.

“I confess that from the first day, I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward,” he told reporters aboard the papal plane.