Pope begins 12-day Latin America tour three weeks after lung surgery

Pope Leo XIV says he is ‘proud to be an American’ after midterm vote

Pope Leo XIV said Friday he was “proud to be an American and to exercise the right” to vote, speaking to journalists aboard the papal plane as he began his first trip since surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung.

The pope declined to comment on the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections, which gave control of Congress to the Democrats, and pointed reporters instead to a Vatican statement issued last week confirming that he had submitted a mail-in ballot in his hometown of Chicago. The AP report characterized the result as a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies.

In the Oct. 30 statement, the Vatican said Leo had voted “whenever he was eligible to do so” as evidence of his belief in civic participation. The statement also said the pope believes “in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”

To another reporter, who asked him about the significance of his Chicago absentee ballot, Leo pointed to the Vatican statement but said: “I’m proud to be an American and to exercise the right.”

The Vatican statement noted that the pope, who also holds Peruvian citizenship, had exercised his right to vote while he lived in Peru. Leo said Friday that he had not been able to vote in Peru’s recent election because absentee ballots “aren’t possible.”

“But I would have done it. It’s a good thing,” he said.

Leo’s ballot drew debate because he heads a foreign country — the Holy See — and took a new persona, Pope Leo XIV, the 266th successor to St. Peter, after his election as pope on May 8, 2025. U.S. federal law allows American citizens, even those who work for foreign governments, to retain their citizenship. But as far as the Catholic Church is concerned, he is Leo, not Robert Prevost, the name on his voter registration.

The pope has played on that distinction when it suits him, particularly on delicate matters. Last weekend, hosting basketball players from his alma mater Villanova University and rival Notre Dame, he joked that “the pope” doesn’t take sides, but that “Prevost” was a Villanovan.

The comments came en route to Montevideo, Uruguay, the first stop of a three-nation, 12-day tour that will also take him to Argentina and Peru — and that begins just three weeks after the 71-year-old pope underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung.

“I’m very happy to be here myself,” Leo told reporters when he came to the back of the plane to greet them. Asked whether he felt as good as he looked, he said: “Maybe better.”

Leo acknowledged that some people had doubted he would be able to make the trip after he revealed to the world on Oct. 11 that he had a nodule on his lung and then underwent the surgery two days later.

“I confess that from the first day, I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward,” he said.

“Praise the Lord and thanks to wonderful medical assistance, I’m here today, I think, in fairly good shape.” He acknowledged that he had not had a chance to play tennis. “Not yet, but I will,” he said.

Doctors confirmed that Leo had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. They removed the lower lobe of his right lung and, after further tests, said he required no further treatment and could make the trip.

The nodule was detected during a routine exam, sometime between Leo’s Sept. 25-28 trip to France and the Oct. 11 announcement. “Early detection is obviously the best way to go, and so regular checkups are a blessing,” he said. He credited his rebound to “Trusting God, good doctors, good surgeons, and overall I think a healthy lifestyle.”

Leo said his takeaway from the diagnosis was a sense of commitment “of wanting to continue to be close to those who are sick,” and a resolve to highlight the need for healthcare to be a right for all people — a message he is expected to emphasize during the trip.