UPDATE 1-Pope Leo to visit Uruguay in November, part of regional tour

Pope Leo's visit to ​the region at the end of the ⁠year is expected to draw large crowds to see ⁠a ​pontiff, who was a missionary in Peru for decades. Leo, the former U.S. Cardinal Robert ⁠Prevost, was first ordained a bishop for the diocese ⁠of Chiclayo, ⁠in Peru's northwest, and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.

Pope ​Leo is ‌set to ​visit Uruguay in November, news outlet Teledoce reported on Thursday, ‌citing the Catholic Church in Montevideo. Uruguay’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters it is preparing for the visit, ‌which would form part of a broader ‌tour of southern Latin America announced in February and is expected to also include Peru and Argentina.

The visit would ⁠be ​notable ⁠in Uruguay, one of the region’s most secular countries, where ⁠church and state are formally separated. Pope Leo's visit to ​the region at the end of the ⁠year is expected to draw large crowds to see ⁠a ​pontiff, who was a missionary in Peru for decades.

Leo, the former U.S. Cardinal Robert ⁠Prevost, was first ordained a bishop for the diocese ⁠of Chiclayo, ⁠in Peru's northwest, and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.