Pope Leo’s big post-cancer stamina test: Climb the Andes, then dive into the Amazon

Pope Leo XIV (third from right) during a Mass at the esplanade of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba in Peru’s Cajamarca region on November 14, 2026, in this handout picture. — Vatican Media pic via AFP

First Published: Sunday, 15 Nov 2026 5:53 PM MYT

CUSCO, Nov 15 — Pope Leo XIV will travel high into the Andes to Cusco on Sunday, before plunging into the Amazon basin, testing his post-cancer stamina as he wraps up his South America tour.

The head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, who underwent lung cancer surgery a month ago, refused to cut the visit to the Unesco World Heritage Site from his itinerary, despite Cusco’s location at over 3,400 metres (11,000 feet) of altitude.

Once in the former capital of the Inca Empire, he will climb even further to Saqsaywaman, a massive hilltop fortress overlooking the Peruvian city, where he will meet with representatives of popular Catholic devotion.

The US-born pontiff has been on an intense 12-day trip through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, rallying a declining faith, defending the poor and marginalised, and deploring regional ills, from a rise in violence to a drop in birth rates.

Sunday, Leo’s last full day in Latin America, will be the most demanding physically for the 71-year-old, as he travels between two of the most important cultural and geographic regions in Peru, his adopted homeland.

As Robert Francis Prevost, he served for almost two decades as a missionary in the South American country, and his emotionally-charged homecoming will conclude in a key centre of Catholicism.

Designed by the Incas to resemble in its layout a crouching puma, Cusco was partially destroyed during the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, but would go on to serve as a major base for the evangelisation of the Andes.

Rainforest communities

The pontiff will spend three hours in Cusco, leading prayer in front of the Cathedral, before flying to Pucallpa, one of the largest cities in the Peruvian Amazon, to meet representatives of Indigenous Amazonian peoples.

Lying on the banks of the Ucayali River deep within the rainforest, the city is home to numerous timber-harvesting businesses and an oil refinery, and serves as a gateway to the surrounding rainforest communities.

An aerial view of Yarinacocha Lagoon in Peru’s Ucayali region on November 14, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Pucallpa on November 15. — AFP pic

Leo will watch a dance performed by the Shipibo-Konibo tribe before making a speech expected to focus on threats to Indigenous people, from drug trafficking to illegal deforestation and pollution.

Peru, half of which is covered by the Amazon rainforest, is one of the few countries in the world where uncontacted tribes continue to live in absolute autonomy, away from modern society.

But narcotics gangs look to take advantage of jungle areas that are difficult to access, and the Amazon’s natural riches attract exploiters of its gold or its cedar and mahogany trees, which are in danger of extinction.

To symbolise the importance of preserving the rainforest, Leo will take part in a ceremony to plant a tree – reportedly a shihuahuaco, an Amazonian species that can live for more than 1,000 years but is attractive to loggers.

He will then celebrate a Mass expected to draw tens of thousands of pilgrims, before flying to the capital Lima, where he will depart Monday for Rome.

Despite the slog, Leo has looked fresh-faced every day of the trip.

This final test will be scrutinised, however, as the Church seeks confirmation that the cancer – discovered fewer than 18 months into Leo’s papacy – has been overcome. — AFP