Pope Leo XIV is preparing for a significant journey to three South American countries—Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina—scheduled from November 6 to November 17. The trip will cover more than 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) by air, nearly double the length of his previous papal visit to Africa. This pilgrimage will mark the first time a pope visits Argentina and will include stops that reflect on the Catholic Church’s historical presence in the region. The visit will start in Uruguay on November 8, coinciding with the feast day of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, the country’s patron saint. A small 18th-century statue of the Madonna, linked to Jesuit missionaries, is currently housed in the city of Florida. The pope will lead a Mass at the National Shrine there, continuing a tradition of honoring religious symbols tied to the region’s Catholic heritage. The second leg of the journey will take the pope to Argentina, where he will honor Our Lady of Lujan, the country’s patron saint, on November 15. The statue of the Madonna is located in Lujan, in the Buenos Aires province. The late Pope Francis, who was born in Argentina, held this statue in special regard but never returned to his homeland after becoming pope. Francis, who passed away in 2025, had been a controversial figure in Argentina and reportedly avoided returning to avoid political tensions that could arise from a papal visit. In Buenos Aires, the pope will visit the city’s federal prison, a gesture that may reflect Pope Francis’s own efforts in prison ministry. The trip’s highlight will be the pope’s return to Peru, where he will spend the majority of his time. He will arrive in Lima on November 11 and leave on the afternoon of November 16 after a final Mass in Callao, where he once served as a temporary administrator. During his time in Peru, he will visit Chiclayo, meet with priests in a special private dinner, and engage with popular groups in Cusco, a city with deep historical roots as the former capital of the Inca Empire and a key center of Spanish colonial rule. He will also travel to Pucallpa in the Amazonian rainforest to celebrate Mass with Peru’s Indigenous peoples on November 15.