Pope Leo, looking well and energetic, answered many questions, including several about his health and about casting his vote in the midterm elections in the United States, as he traveled with journalists on a 13-hour, 8,000-mile flight from Rome to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.
The Vatican confirmed last week that Leo voted by mail-in ballot in his home state of Illinois. Asked by a journalist from CNN, “How should we understand the significance of this?”, he replied, “I already made a statement about that. I’m proud to be an American and to exercise the right.”
Another journalist asked the pope whether he had also voted in the Peruvian elections, to which Leo said: “I did not vote because it was not possible; however, I would have done so [if I could have], it’s a good thing.”
When asked what he thought about the result of the midterm elections in Texas, he responded, “No comment.”
Pope Leo began his comments by thanking the journalists on the plane “for the work you do, which is so important in helping us spread the word and especially, of course, the word which is God’s message of peace and good will for all people.”
“I’m happy to be here myself,” he said. “I know some people were doubtful about this trip taking place. I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward, and [I’m] very happy to say praise the Lord and thanks to wonderful medical assistants. And I’m out here today, and I think in fairly good shape.”
“So, you’re the witnesses to that, and I’m happy that you are joining us,” he told the 80 journalists from different news outlets, including 10 from the three countries he will visit and America’s senior Vatican Correspondent.
He went on to present the new prefect of the Vatican Dicastery of Communications, Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alverardo, “who has joined the Vatican team of the Holy See in taking on this challenging role,” taking over from Paolo Ruffini, “who has completed his term of service.” And now, he said, “We have the wonderful experience, the creativity and the life and liveliness of Montse, who will be accompanying us on this trip and helping the Vatican and myself in the very important dimension of communication.”
Then, referring to the long journey he had just begun, he said, “We’re headed to three countries in Latin America”—Uruguay, Argentina and Peru—“each one of them with a very particular history.” He recalled that they have “many things in common but also many differences.” He added, “The longest part of the trip will be in Peru, which for myself of course is one of my many homes, and I’m very happy to be going back there.”
He reminded people that “the primary reason for making this trip is to continue the mission of the Bishop of Rome, of the pope, sharing the joy of the Gospel, announcing the Good News and walking together with people, expressing that closeness which is so important to people, whether it be in their moments of joy or in their moments of sorrow, [people] that are very much looking for the message of hope in today’s world.”
He concluded, “So I very much hope that that will be the primary focus with the particular [dimension] of each country, as we visit their people and cultures,” and “I am very happy to share this journey with you.”
He then went on to greet each of the journalists individually; some asked questions, several gave him gifts, others just shook hands and exchanged a few words with him. He did not hasten through these meetings but listened attentively and sometimes responded with a comment.
Some questions related to his health. Asked whether his own health was in his prayers when he visited Lourdes, Pope Leo said, “When we went to Lourdes, there were no signs of any difficulties…” At Lourdes, he said, “I was much more concerned about the health of people there.”
Given what he has been through, one reporter asked what advice he would give to those facing their own cancer diagnosis. Leo replied: “[To] not be afraid. Early detection is obviously the best way to go, and so regular check-ups are a blessing. And take care of yourselves!”
One reporter asked if, having been sick and having shared his feelings about being close to those who are sick and disabled, he now feels a sense of urgency about this. Leo said rather than urgency he felt “a sense of commitment of wanting to be close to those who are sick and to say to people—as I will in my first talk [in Montevideo]—about how health care should be a right of all people. I want to give this message, and I think it is worth doing.”
Another journalist remarked, “Holy Father, you look terrific; do you feel as good as you look?” He answered with a broad smile: “Maybe better.”
Referring to his stay in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, one journalist asked what he read while he was there. Leo told him, “[I read] my breviary prayerbook and newspapers.”
When another remarked, “It’s surprising that you are doing this trip [so soon] after the operation,” and asked, “What’s your secret?” he responded, “Faith in God, good doctors and a healthy life.”
Asked by one what he cannot wait to see, Leo said, “Oh, old things, new things and most of all the people.”
Since next year is the Jubilee of Santiago de Compostela, one reporter asked if he planned to visit Spain again. “I would like to, but one thing is to wish to, another thing is if one can,” the pope said.
Recalling that he had recently met Bob Dylan, one journalist asked a favor. “If Bruce Springsteen ever comes to see him, could he ask Bruce to have a concert for Vaticanisti [Vatican reporters]?” Leo laughed and quipped, “That’s above my pay grade.”
I gave him a booklet about an Australian Josephite nun, Sister Irene McCormack, who was executed by the Shining Path guerrillas, after a mock trial, in the Peruvian Andes on May 21, 1991. It seems they had a teenage girl shoot her. Pope Leo was moved when I told him the story and said, “I may have met her, but I’m not sure.” As for the execution, he shook his head sadly and said, “That’s what happened.” As a young missionary, he was asked if he wished to return home to the United States when the Shining Path were threatening the missionaries, but he refused and said he would remain with the people, so this story was one of particular relevance for him.
My wife, Elisabetta Piqué—correspondent for La Nacion, Argentina’s main newspaper—gave him a framed copy of the paper’s front page on the day after his election as pope, but she said, since that gift is likely to be sent to the archive, she gave him a second gift, a T-shirt with the same front page image, suggesting he might wear it when he plays tennis at Castel Gandolfo.
When another Spanish-speaking reporter asked if he had resumed playing tennis, Leo responded, “Not yet, but I will!”
An American reporter asked Leo if he feels he’s a different personality when he is speaking Spanish; Leo responded with humor: “You’ll have to watch and see. Some people say that there is a difference; others [say there is not]. I don’t know.”
Asked by an Italian journalist if he was satisfied with the truce in Oleshky in Ukraine that allowed humanitarian aid to reach almost 2,000 besieged people there, Leo said: “Thanks be to God, it succeeded. And I thank God every time a humanitarian gesture can save lives. I pray that it will not remain an isolated case. But there’s still much work to be done to arrive at peace.” In October, Pope Leo spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, encouraging a humanitarian cease-fire.
When Leo was asked whether the Argentine leg of this long journey of 19,000 miles “was about remembering Pope Francis,” he responded that the “main purpose” was “to spread the word of the church, and I’m sure there will be many important connections [to Pope Francis], but it’s not the primary business of this trip.”
In response to a similar question from a Spanish reporter who asked if his visit to Argentina could be seen as “a homage to Pope Francis,” he answered, “Yes, in the sense that since he was not able to go back to his country, I go there with much joy.”
He spent almost a whole hour going around among the press corps on the plane, chatting, joking and receiving many gifts. The 71-year-old Augustinian pope showed by word and deed that he is in fine form both physically and mentally and keen to take on this marathon journey, which is the sixth and the longest foreign trip he has made since his election as pope on May 8, 2025.
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