Pope Leo says he is in 'pretty good health' as he starts Latin America tour weeks after cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV has said he is "in pretty good health" as he began a 12-day tour of Latin America, just three weeks after surgery for lung cancer. Speaking to reporters on the papal plane to Uruguay, the 71-year-old said he was "very happy" to be able to make the trip, which had been thrown into doubt when doctors found a tumour during a routine scan last month, the BBC reports.

Today, Sunday, he travels on to Argentina.

"I never had any doubts"

"I must confess that, from the very first day, I never had any doubts; I was convinced that this journey had to go forward," the Pope told journalists. "Thanks to the marvellous medical staff... I believe I am in quite good health."

The Vatican announced in October that the operation to remove the tumour had been successful, and his doctors say the cancer has not spread. These were his first public comments on his condition since the surgery.

Crowds in Montevideo

On Friday the Pope arrived in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, where crowds lined the seafront shouting his name as the Popemobile passed. In his first speech of the tour, in the city's Plaza Independencia, he said universal healthcare should be "accessible to everyone".

He told the crowd that the care he had received made him think of the "many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis" or to receive treatment. He ended his first day with a prayer at Montevideo Cathedral.

Argentina and a "homecoming" in Peru

The tour, the Pope's sixth international journey, will cover more than 20,000 miles. From Uruguay he travels to Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never returned there during his own papacy.

The final leg will take him back to Peru, a visit the Vatican has described as a "homecoming". Before his election, Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago, spent many years in Peru as a missionary and then as a bishop, and holds Peruvian citizenship.

The Pope said the visit was about being close to people who were looking to the Church for a message of "hope".

Why it matters

Latin America is home to the largest number of Catholics of any region in the world, and the tour is being followed closely by Catholic communities everywhere, including in Catholic parishes across Birmingham.

For many, the sight of a Pope recovering from cancer surgery and choosing to travel thousands of miles so soon afterwards carries its own message. His call for healthcare that everyone can afford, delivered on the first day of the trip, set the tone for what follows.