Pope in 'pretty good health' as he starts Latin America tour

Pope Leo XIV has told reporters travelling with him to Latin America he is "in pretty good health", in his first comments on his condition since having surgery for lung cancer. The Pope has arrived in Uruguay, the first stop of a 12-day tour which he is undertaking only three weeks after his operation.

The pontiff, 71, also said he was "very happy" to be able to make the trip which was thrown into doubt last month when doctors discovered a tumour during a routine scan. The tour will cover Argentina and a much anticipated return to Peru , which the Vatican described as a "homecoming" as the Pope was based there for many years as a missionary, then a bishop.

"I must confess that, from the very first day, I never had any doubts; I was convinced that this journey had to go forward," the Pope told journalists on his plane to Uruguay. He told the crowd in Plaza Independencia the care he received made him think of the "many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis" or receive treatment.