Explained: After cancer surgery, Pope Leo embarks on Latin America trip with a first stop in secular Uruguay

Pope Leo XIV is touring Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with Uruguay as the first stop

vespers service

An evening prayer service in Catholic liturgical tradition

Virgin of the Thirty-three

A small wooden icon of the Virgin Mary tied to Uruguay's independence movement

pontificate

The period during which a pope holds office

convalescence period

The recovery time doctors require after surgery before resuming normal activity

church-state separation

Uruguay's legal principle keeping religion out of government, including barring mentions of God in oaths of office