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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nLIMA, Peru\u00a0 \u2014 Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima Nov. 11 for the much-anticipated final leg of his 12-day apostolic journey to South America, landing in the country that the pope described as \u201cone of my many homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The visit<\/a> marks Pope Leo\u2019s first return to Peru since his election and brings him back to a country where he spent two decades that shaped his ministry as an Augustinian missionary and bishop in Peru. He first arrived in Peru as a missionary priest in 1985 and later returned to lead the Diocese of Chiclayo, serving as its bishop from 2015 to 2023.<\/p>\n In his very first speech as pope, he gave a special shoutout in Spanish from the loggia of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica to \u201cmy beloved Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru,\u201d where, he said, \u201ca faithful people has accompanied its bishop, shared its faith and given so much, so much, to continue being a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n For the people of Peru, the apostolic visit is not just a welcoming of the Vicar of Christ; it\u2019s the return of a missionary, a neighbor and a shepherd who understood the realities of those who lived there, particularly the poor and the marginalized. Many signs and welcome banners with images of the pope are spread across the streets of Chiclayo as the city awaits his return.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like the return of a family member who\u2019s been away,\u201d Mildred Camacho, Pope Leo\u2019s 31-year-old goddaughter, told OSV News the day before his arrival.<\/a><\/p>\n Camacho, who was named after Pope Leo\u2019s late mother, Mildred, is serving as a volunteer for the papal visit. Then-Father Robert Francis Prevost was just 40 years old when she was baptized shortly after turning 1 in August 1996 in Chulucanas, Peru.<\/p>\n The papal flight touched down at the Callao Air Base in Lima at about 5 p.m. local time after traveling around 2,000 miles on a four-hour, 20-minute flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina.<\/p>\n Peru\u2019s President Keiko Fujimori welcomed Pope Leo at the foot of the stairs, and two children presented him with flowers. A children\u2019s choir sang hymns in Latin and people in the crowds lining his walkway shouted with excitement as he greeted people, especially babies and children, and accepted gifts.<\/p>\n Pope Leo\u2019s first stop in Peru<\/a> was at the Palacio de Gobierno for the official welcome ceremony and a private meeting with Fujimori, who in July became the country\u2019s ninth president in 10 years.<\/p>\n People lined the streets waving and cheering to catch a glimpse of the papal motorcade as Pope Leo traveled from the airport to the city center. The Holy See estimated 3 million people were present on Lima\u2019s streets to welcome Pope Leo that evening.<\/p>\n The pope<\/a> addressed the nation\u2019s political authorities at Lima\u2019s Grand National Theater that evening in his first speech in Peru.<\/p>\n \u201cThis return visit holds a very special meaning for me,\u201d he said. \u201cMy history with Peru began long before the Lord entrusted me with the Diocese of Chiclayo. For decades, I shared in the lives of its people, listened to their concerns, and learned from their faith. Many opened the doors of their homes to me, shared their table with me \u2014 and, of course, some good ceviche \u2014 and made me feel like one of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n Noting he received Peruvian citizenship in 2015, he added, \u201cThat act symbolized a bond that this people had been weaving into my life long before. Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Now as pope, he said, he recognizes how the Lord was \u201cforming me as a shepherd\u201d while in Peru.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I were granted the chance to relive those years, I would do so with joy, embracing both their He spoke about the impact of the Gospel on Peru\u2019s history when it was first proclaimed there 500 years ago. \u201cThe faith took deep root in these lands and found expression in their\u00a0traditions and in countless works of charity,\u201d he said. \u201cSuffice it to recall that the first flower of Latin American holiness bore the name \u2018Rosa,\u2019 and that this Rosa was Peruvian\u201d \u2014 a nod to St. Rose of Lima, a Dominican tertiary who lived in Peru\u2019s capital 1586-1617, and was the first canonized saint of the Americas.<\/p>\n He urged the officials to listen to the Peruvian people, noting that \u201cDemocratic life implies recognizing that no one has all the answers and that differences do not prevent us from sharing a sincere concern for the good of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to encourage everyone to cultivate honesty, integrity, and a willingness to engage with others \u2014 qualities that sustain trust among people and give strength to the life of institutions,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n Families should not be deprived of peace, which, for them, includes \u201cgoing out to work without fear, caring for one\u2019s children, and returning home with peace of mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Associated Press has reported that crime, extortion and killings have been on the rise in Peru, with homicides reaching 10.7 per 100,000 ?inhabitants, up from 5.8 five years ago.<\/p>\n The pope acknowledged the suffering caused by violence and the Church\u2019s desire \u201cto remain close to those who endure it,\u201d he said. He also said that \u201cproviding for one\u2019s family with dignity is also part of that everyday peace\u201d and that development has a \u201ccultural, moral, and spiritual\u201d dimension as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are goods that no economic prosperity can replace: peace of conscience, the certainty of being loved, and the freedom to seek the truth and to guide one\u2019s life according to it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Among Peru\u2019s challenges is its inequality and poverty: In 2025, 25.7% of the Peruvian population was living in poverty, according to government data.<\/p>\n Stressing the need for unity in the country, Pope Leo also said that \u201cTo love a people is to desire that everyone may live with dignity among them, to take an interest in them, and to be willing to offer something of oneself for their good. It is a sentiment that I have come to understand better thanks to you, and which I wish to share today with those who hold public office,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pope also listed different expressions of solidarity preserved in Peru, such as communal work projects, women running soup kitchens and meal programs, and the different ways families help one another in times of difficulty.<\/p>\n Through the intercession of Mary and all the saints and blesseds of the country, the pope asked God \u201cthat the love of Christ may help you to recognize in every Peruvian a brother or sister, and in each one, yet another reason to love your homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n He concluded the speech asking for God\u2019s blessings upon Peru and all his people.<\/p>\n On his second day in Lima Nov. 12, Pope Leo expects to meet with Peru\u2019s bishops and lead mid-morning prayer at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist with the country\u2019s Catholic community. He plans to give a speech outside the cathedral on the challenges and hopes of the Peruvian people. That evening, Pope Leo is scheduled to join young people and college students at the National Stadium for a prayer vigil.<\/p>\n In addition to Lima, the capital and largest city of Peru, Pope Leo will also visit Chiclayo, where he will celebrate a large outdoor Mass; Cusco, the former Inca capital in the Andes; and Pucallpa, a city on the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest that has long been a center of Catholic missionary outreach before arriving back in Rome on Nov. 17.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
happy moments and their difficulties,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is why I can tell you, with deep gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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