With one week to go before Pope Leo XIV embarks on his trip to Latin America, he is in very good health and high spirits. That was the impression of those who were with him this week.
Laura Fernandez is the president of Costa Rica and went to see him at the Apostolic Palace. They spoke for about half an hour on various topics.
LAURA FERNÁNDEZ, President of Costa Rica
Well, physically and emotionally, he’s doing great. He’s a kind, approachable person; he treated me with immense affection, and I felt right at home. The truth is, I’m immensely grateful to God that the Holy Father appears to be in good health and high spirits.
On Friday, November 6, Pope Leo XIV will board a plane and begin a tour that will take him to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.
And although his surgery on October 13 raised fears that the trip might be canceled, the pope is recovering in record time.
This week he also met with the bishop of Eswatini.
MSGR. JOSÉ LUIS PONCE DE LEÓN, Bishop of Manzini, Eswatini
And that's great, that's great. To think he'd had surgery just two weeks ago...
And that's great, we chatted about lots of things for half an hour.
Health is key for an 11-day trip, during which Pope Leo XIV will travel just over 30,600 kilometers. There will be nearly 20 segments by plane or helicopter and a schedule packed with activities.
Although the challenge is great, he seems ready to face it, both physically and emotionally.
MSGR. JOSÉ LUIS PONCE DE LEÓN, Bishop of Manzini, Eswatini
Besides, it really strikes you, I’d already seen this with Pope Franics, that the number of meetings he has in the morning isn’t just a matter of meeting one person and going for coffee. He never stops. And on top of that, he goes from one part of the world to another, I’m from Eswatini, and then Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, also from the Consolata, came with a group of Buddhists. So it’s a constant mental and emotional shift.
In good health and with the doctors' approval, the pope is packing his bags to return to his adopted continent.
CBM/CA
