ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV will celebrate 12 public Masses during the month of November, starting with an All Souls’ Day Mass at Rome’s largest cemetery.
The pope’s liturgical schedule was released a day after the pope’s doctors cleared him to make the Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru without changes, just weeks after surgery for lung cancer.
The Vatican announced Oct. 27 that Pope Leo will offer three public Masses in Rome and Vatican City during the month of November, in addition to the nine Masses he is already scheduled to celebrate in South America, making November one of the busiest liturgical months of his pontificate so far.
Doctors said Oct. 21 that Pope Leo would need no further cancer treatment after undergoing video-assisted surgery Oct. 13 in which the lower lobe of his right lung was removed.
Before departing for South America, Pope Leo will celebrate two public Masses in Rome.
All Souls’ Day Mass at Rome’s Verano Cemetery
The first will be an All Souls’ Day Mass Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. at Verano Cemetery near the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, the same cemetery where he celebrated the feast last year.
On Nov. 5, the day before leaving for South America, the pope will preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the cardinals and bishops who have died during the past year. The liturgy is scheduled for 9 a.m.
The day after returning from South America, Pope Leo will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the 400th anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The Mass is scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 18.
In South America, the pope will celebrate two Masses in Uruguay, three in Argentina and four in Peru.
In Uruguay, Pope Leo will celebrate Mass Nov. 7 in Paysandú at París Londres Park and Nov. 8 in Florida at the Cathedral Basilica of Florida, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, coinciding with the country’s annual national pilgrimage.
3 public papal Masses scheduled in Argentina
In Argentina, the pope will celebrate Mass Nov. 9 at the Monumento de los Españoles in Buenos Aires, Nov. 10 on the grounds of the Military Aviation School in Córdoba. He is also scheduled to offer Mass Nov. 11 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, one of the nation’s leading pilgrimage destinations.
In Peru, Pope Leo will celebrate four Masses: Nov. 13 near the Pampas de Pimentel outside Chiclayo, where an estimated 1 million people are expected; Nov. 14 in Santa Cruz de Succhabamba in the Andes; Nov. 15 at the Villa Deportiva Regional Ucayali sports complex in Pucallpa, in Peru’s Amazon region; and Nov. 16 at Las Palmas Air Base in Callao, near Lima.
A statement released by the Vatican on Oct. 26 from Dr. Luigi Carbone, the papal doctor, said that “based on his current clinical status, as well as the instrumental and laboratory tests performed, there are no contraindications that would prevent him from undertaking his upcoming apostolic journey to Latin America as planned.”
The pope “is following medical recommendations with great care and diligence, and with a deep determination to continue serving the Church,” Carbone said.
Pope Leo XIV will travel more than 19,000 miles on 14 flights during the November trip to Peru, Argentina and Uruguay. The trip culminates with a return to Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.
Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
