Top photo caption: Pope Leo XIV gives his homily during Mass in Rome’s Verano Cemetery Nov. 2, 2025, the feast of All Souls. Pope Leo will celebrate Mass for the 2026 feast at the same cemetery, Rome’s largest, and this year’s Nov. 2 Mass will be the first of 12 public Masses the Pope will celebrate in November. CNS photo/Vatican Media
By Courtney Mares, OSV News
ROME OSV News – Pope Leo XIV will celebrate 14 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 this week that Pope Leo will offer five 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.
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.
Pope Leo will also make a series of parish visits in Rome upon his return, the Vatican announced Oct. 28. The Pope will celebrate Mass in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in the historic center of Rome on the feast of the Miraculous Medal on Nov. 27. Two days later, Pope Leo will also offer Mass in the parish Church of San Carlo da Sezze – a parish known for accompanying young people and the poor in the south of Rome – on Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent.
The Pope’s November parish Masses are the first of five parish visits that the Pope will make before the year’s end, including a scheduled visit to the Roman Parish of Santa Lucia on Dec. 13, the feast of St. Lucy.
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 Paysandu at Paris 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.
In Argentina, the Pope will celebrate Mass Nov. 9 at the Monumento de los Espanoles in Buenos Aires, Nov. 10 on the grounds of the Military Aviation School in Cordoba. He is also scheduled to offer Mass Nov. 11 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan, 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.
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