During the briefing, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, outlined the itinerary, which will involve approximately a dozen flights and visits to ten cities.
Throughout the journey, the Pope will celebrate Mass, meet with local Church communities and address civil authorities. He is expected to deliver around 40 addresses, all in Spanish.
Journey of communion, encounter and unity
Bruni recalled that the Holy Father is bringing a message of communion and unity to the three countries.
While describing the visit to Peru as, in some respects, a homecoming for the Pope, he stressed that each stop would offer an opportunity to encounter the people, their history, their social realities and their faith.
The length of the journey, he noted, would also allow the Pope to experience something of the diversity of each country.
Another important theme will be the universal call to holiness, which is addressed to every Christian and invites the faithful to bear witness to holiness through personal commitment, faith and responsibility towards others.
In this context, Bruni recalled several saints and blesseds from the countries the Pope will visit.
They include Blessed Jacinto Vera of Uruguay; Enrique Shaw, St José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and St María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, of Argentina; and St Rose of Lima, St Martin de Porres and St Toribio de Mogrovejo of Peru.
Their lives offer diverse examples of Christian holiness, expressed through pastoral dedication, professional and family life, missionary activity, charity and evangelisation.
A return to Peru and encounters with Augustinians
The journey will also have a particular personal significance for Pope Leo, especially during his time in Peru, where he carried out missionary and pastoral work for many years.
The Holy Father is also expected to meet members of the Augustinian communities during the journey, including during his time in Argentina and upon his arrival in Peru.
The Director of the Holy See Press Office also confirmed that the Pope will meet with victims of clerical sexual abuse during the course of the Journey.
Uruguay
The Pope will begin his journey in Uruguay, where he will remain from 6 to 8 November, visiting Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida.
The motto for this stage of the visit is “I bring you news of great joy”, taken from the angel's announcement to the shepherds in Bethlehem.
This will be the first papal visit to Uruguay since St John Paul II travelled to the country in 1988.
During the Q&A with press, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, observed that people say 'Why go to Uruguay, when it is so secular?' noting, "I say: 'Why not?' The Gospel is meant to go everywhere."
Argentina
On 8 November, Pope Leo will travel to Argentina, where he will remain until 11 November. His programme includes visits to Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján.
The visit will carry particular significance, as Argentina is the homeland of the late Pope Francis.
The Holy Father will arrive almost four decades after the last papal visit to the country, when St John Paul II travelled there in 1987.
The motto for this stage of the journey is “Welcome everyone. Go and proclaim.”
Peru
On 11 November, Pope Leo will travel to Peru, where he will remain until 17 November, visiting Lima, Chiclayo, Cuzco and Pucallpa.
The motto for this stage is “Let us open our hearts.”
The visit will be especially meaningful for the Holy Father, who spent several years in Peru carrying out missionary and pastoral ministry. It will offer an opportunity to return to places and communities that played an important role in his formation as a pastor.
The Pope's enthusiasm for the Journey
During the briefing, Alvarado shared the Pope's enthusiasm for the upcoming visit, explaining that he had personally confirmed the journey and was looking forward to it.
She said that the Holy Father was grateful for the concern and affection expressed by the faithful, particularly in response to questions about his health and the demands of such an extensive journey.
“He is so excited,” she explained. “He personally confirmed this trip, with no changes. And I don't think it's a surprise that there were certain concerns. Everyone is concerned because everyone loves the Holy Father. And that's a beautiful thing. He's so grateful.”
She added that the Pope understood these expressions of concern as signs of people's affection and hope for what the journey would bring.
Alvarado identified two particularly important dimensions of the visit, noting the first is that it marks a sort of "homecoming."
She observed that Pope Leo feels a deep personal connection to Peru, having been a country that helped shape his ministry and his understanding of pastoral service.
“This is a place that gave him his ministry and inspired who he is as a pastor,” she explained, adding that his experience there had shaped the way he understands encounter and the diverse needs of the Church.
Alvarado: "The Pope asked me to share this with you"
The second dimension concerns the Pope's desire to share his message with the wider world.
Alvarado read a message the Holy Father had asked her to convey to journalists:
“He is personally looking forward to this journey and hopes that you will help share his message of peace and encounter with the world, so that others can see what he knows through personal experience: the wonderful way the Church is expressed in Latin America through its diverse peoples and cultures.”
The Pope hopes, she continued, that the journey will allow the world to appreciate the diversity of the Church and recognise the importance of encounter in promoting healing and peace.
The programme shows Pope Leo's heart
She also emphasised the central role of dialogue in building understanding.
Alvarado said that the various elements of the programme “show you his heart.”
Although the itinerary is shaped by requests from governments and coordinated with the respective Episcopal Conferences, she explained that the Pope would seek to make the most of every opportunity to meet people and share his pastoral vision.
She also anticipated that journalists would encounter a particularly spontaneous side of the Holy Father.
“You will see him as you saw him in Spain, giving away his heart and speaking in a language that is true to him. You will see that again, but in a totally different way because he knows these streets.”
She warned that the Pope might frequently depart from prepared texts, offering journalists plenty of improvised remarks to follow.
While this could make their work more demanding, she described it as something beautiful, reflecting the Pope's desire to communicate personally and authentically with the people he meets.
Social justice and care for the most vulnerable
Questions from journalists also touched on the social justice dimensions of the journey.
In response, Bruni suggested that the programme itself offered a clear indication of the Pope's priorities.
He pointed in particular to scheduled encounters with prisoners, visits to places affected by environmental exploitation and opportunities to be close to the poor and vulnerable.
These encounters, together with the meetings and celebrations planned throughout the three countries, will form an important part of the Pope's message of solidarity, encounter and peace.
Various journalists asked questions about the Pope's health, but the Press Office Director and Dicastery Prefect responded that no changes have been made to the programme given the Pope is in great health and that the surgery resolved the concern and left him with no permanent condition.