Pope Leo XIV called Peru his “homeland” after arriving in Lima on Wednesday, opening the final leg of his South American tour in a country where he spent more than two decades as a missionary priest and bishop. He said Peruvians had shaped him as a pastor by sharing their lives and struggles with him.
“Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you,” Leo said during a welcome ceremony at the presidential palace. He met President Keiko Fujimori and sang Peru’s national anthem alongside her and a children’s choir. CBS News reported that Leo described his return as a homecoming.
Born in Chicago, Leo became a Peruvian citizen in 2015. He has said the country was where he learned “what it means to be a shepherd.” His years in Peru included service in the northern city of Chiclayo, where he is due to visit during the trip.
Visits planned across Peru
The Vatican’s announced itinerary runs from November 11 to 17 and includes Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa. In Lima, Leo is scheduled to address challenges and hopes for Peru’s future. His planned visit to Pucallpa, in the Amazon region, includes a Mass honoring Indigenous communities.
The Amazon visit will bring attention to issues affecting Indigenous people, including environmental damage, exclusion, violence and extreme poverty, according to remarks included in the report. Leo is also due to meet religious and local representatives in Cusco and celebrate Mass in the city’s main square.
Leo’s Peruvian citizenship makes the visit especially personal: he is the first pope born in the United States and the first with Peruvian ties to serve as pontiff. The Peru itinerary is the closing stage of his tour, which began in Uruguay and also included Argentina. Vatican News announced the November journey and its planned stops.
Nicole French