Pope in 'pretty good health' as he starts Latin America tour25 minutes agoSarah Rainsford,Southern and Eastern Europe correspondentandVictoria Bourne
AFP via Getty Images Pope Leo XIV greets faithful from the popemobile during a welcome ceremony at Plaza Independencia in Montevideo.AFP via Getty Images

Pope Leo XIV has told reporters travelling with him to Latin America he is "in pretty good health", in his first comments on his condition since having surgery for lung cancer.

The Pope has arrived in Uruguay, the first stop of a 12-day tour which he is undertaking only three weeks after his operation.

The pontiff, 71, also said he was "very happy" to be able to make the trip which was thrown into doubt last month when doctors discovered a tumour during a routine scan.