Pope Leo kicks off Latin America tour 3 weeks after cancer surgery

Three weeks after lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV opened a three-nation tour of Latin America on Friday by declaring he felt better than he looked and crediting God, good doctors and his healthy lifestyle with his quick recovery.

The 71-year-old pope arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, Latin America's most secular country, after a 13 1/2-hour flight from Rome during which he acknowledged "some people" had doubted whether he could make the gruelling, 12-day trip at all.

Despite the long trip, the 71-year-old Leo seemed in fine form as he arrived at the Plaza Independencia for the formal welcome and speech, held outdoors on a windy afternoon. He greeted Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and government officials, smiling broadly as the wind whipped the Uruguayan and Holy See flags behind him.