Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru will welcome Pope Leo XIV in November

«The Holy Father Leo XIV will make an Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from November 6 to 17, 2026, accepting the invitation of the Heads of State and ecclesiastical authorities of those respective countries, His Holiness will visit Montevideo, Paysandú, and Florida from November 6 to 8; Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Luján from November 8 to 11; and Lima, Chiclayo, Cuzco, and Pucallpa from November 11 to 17.».

With this brief statement, the Holy See has confirmed the upcoming trip of Leo XIV, who, following his upcoming trip to France in September, will cross the Atlantic to set foot on the American continent for the first time as the successor of Peter.

Although the itinerary will not be announced until approximately one month before the trip begins, this papal visit is expected to draw one of the largest crowds to a region well known to Pope Leo XIV. Not surprisingly, Robert Prevost lived as a missionary at the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, in the Piura region of Peru, for one year (1986–1987), and after residing in the United States for his pastoral work, he returned to Peru in 1988 to the Augustinian mission in Trujillo, where he remained for 10 years.

On November 3, 2014, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Peruvian diocese of Chiclayo, and he was named titular bishop of that diocese a year later. He remained there until 2023, when he moved to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

As Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine, Robert Prevost also visited Uruguay in 2011. Also, during his term as Prior General of the Order, he was able to visit Argentina on several occasions, during which he toured various Augustinian communities—such as in 2004, when he learned about the work of the Augustinians in provinces like Catamarca, Córdoba, Mendoza, and Salta, and in 2013, when he visited Buenos Aires and La Plata, where he participated in the Mass for the episcopal ordination of Monsignor Alberto Bochatey at the Church of San Agustín in the Palermo neighborhood.