Pope Leo XIV Declares Peru His Homeland
The Vatican said about 3 million people lined his route as he began a six-day visit focused on reconciliation and Peru’s social challenges.
- On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV opened the Peruvian leg of his South American tour in Lima, telling crowds that returning to the country where he served for two decades felt like "also returning to my homeland."
- Leo holds Peruvian citizenship and spent over two decades there as a missionary priest and bishop in Chiclayo, making him the first pope from either the United States or Peru.
- About 3 million people lined his motorcade route, reflecting the Catholic Church's status as Peru's most credible institution even as the Catholic population fell from 76% to about 67%.
- At the presidential palace, Leo sang the national anthem with President Keiko Fujimori, who said Peru must face the "unfinished task" of reconciliation after decades of insurgent violence and political divisions.
- His six-day stay includes a high-altitude trip to 3,700 meters, considered risky after Leo had part of a lung removed in mid-October because of a malignant tumor.
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27 Articles
On Wednesday, the pope celebrated his return to his "patria", during his first speech in Peru, where he had been ministering for almost two decades. Leo XIV called on Wednesday to "cultivate honesty, righteousness and willingness to meet"Received fervently on Wednesday in Peru, his "patria", where he lived almost twenty years, Pope Leo XIV called on the Peruvians to approach the painful episodes of the past with "justice and sensitivity." The Am…
Welcomed fervently Wednesday, November 11, 2026 in Peru, his "homeland", where he lived nearly twenty years, Pope Leo XIV called the Peruvians to approach the painful episodes of the past with "justice and sensitivity".
Welcomed with enthusiasm in Peru on Wednesday, "his country, where he lived almost twenty years, Pope Leon XIV urged Peruvians to address the painful episodes of the past with "righteousness and sensitivity," writes AFP.
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