Pope Leo said he hoped the trip would renew faith and hope in the countries, which face rising inequality, violence, population decline and declining Catholicism. (EPA Images pic)FIUMICINO: Pope Leo XIV headed to South America on Friday for an emotionally charged reunion with the continent that helped shape his priesthood, three weeks after undergoing lung cancer surgery.
The 71-year-old head of the Catholic Church will in 12 days visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in one of the most intense papal foreign trips in decades, meeting political leaders, prisoners, and the poor, as well as old friends.
A smiling Leo waved to onlookers before boarding his plane under overcast skies at Rome's Fiumicino airport, with the aircraft taking off shortly after 0600 GMT, according to AFP journalists.
