Pope visits high Andes, testing cancer recovery

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CUZCO, Peru: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday (Nov 15) faced his toughest physical test since undergoing lung cancer surgery, visiting high-altitude Cusco on the final full day of his South America tour.

The 71-year-old pontiff, who had part of a lung removed a month ago, arrived in the ancient Inca capital, more than 3,400 metres above sea level - high enough to leave many a visitor breathless.

Children in brightly woven ponchos and embroidered skirts greeted the pope as he stepped off the plane for the latest stop on an intense 12-day trip through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

"To be honest, I thought it might be cancelled," said Valentin Cruz Turpo, aged 29. "But I still had hope, because God is powerful and can do anything."

Hundreds of thousands lined the streets of a city that for centuries before the Spanish conquest was the "navel of the world" - a hub of learning and discovery in art, science and culture.

The pope visited a vast stone fortress that crowns a hill above Cusco, where troupes of musicians and ritual dancers from across the mountains gathered for a prayer service.

"The beauty of this place that welcomes us this morning is undeniable," said the pontiff. "Saqsaywaman rises toward the Andean sky like a stone altar, where the ancients climbed in search of the divine."

"There has come to be a meeting point between the Catholic faith and the Andean beliefs that we have," said engineer Adriano Fuyo Mora, 35, who described himself as "Catholic, Christian, and above all as an Andean, drawing on the traditions of my parents and ancestors."

Later on Sunday he will travel to the Peruvian Amazon as part of a demanding day that will be closely watched for signs that his recovery remains on track.

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