Pope returns to ‘beloved’ Peruvian hometown

PIMENTEL, Peru — Pope Leo XIV returned Friday to his adopted hometown of Chiclayo, where one million people braved desert heat to welcome their former bishop, who recently underwent cancer surgery.

The 71-year-old pontiff told the faithful in Chiclayo that he was recovering after the operation last month.

“Thank you for your affection, support and prayers, especially for my health during this time of trial which, with God’s help, I am overcoming,” Leo said.

The faithful streamed across Peru’s vast Pampas de Pimentel plain under a blazing sun as soldiers handed out water and firefighters sprayed pilgrims ahead of an open-air mass.

Families abandoned their vehicles and trudged through the dust for hours toward the open-air service as temperatures climbed above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) before mid-morning.

The visit is the emotional centerpiece of the pope’s South America tour, bringing him back to the city where Robert Francis Prevost served as bishop and earned a reputation for staying close to poor communities and disaster victims.

Among the faithful was Cesar Arroyo Serquen, 65, who set out at dawn and spent four hours pushing a cart carrying an image of Jesus through deep sand.

Seeing the pope “is a joy from God, a blessing for our people and above all for Chiclayo,” he said.

“It has been a joy since he was elected pope to know that a man of Chiclayo, perhaps not by birth but with the heart of a Chiclayano, has now been chosen as pope”.

He added that local Catholics were praying for Leo’s recovery.

The US-born pontiff, who holds Peruvian citizenship, paid tribute to his “beloved Diocese of Chiclayo” in Spanish from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in his first speech as pope.

In the coastal city where Leo served from 2015 to 2023, his image is everywhere, from murals and banners to keychains and T-shirts sold on street corners.

Bishop Prevost “left a significant mark here, through his personal style, his character, and his actions,” Jorge Villegas, vicar general of the Diocese of Chiclayo, told AFP.

“He reached every last corner of the Diocese of Chiclayo, a region where the geography is far from easy.”

Prevost remained close to poor communities during periods of hardship, including devastating floods and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Residents still recall him pulling on rubber boots to wade through floodwaters and help stranded families. Locals remember him “standing by us during several natural disasters,” Villegas said.

He also helped lead a campaign to build oxygen plants during the pandemic, according to the diocese.

Among those gathered in Chiclayo was Katerine Preciado, a 33-year-old Colombian who lives near Peru’s border with Ecuador.

Wearing a cap bearing the pope’s image, she said she hoped Leo would deliver “a message of peace, reconciliation, and mercy — a message full of love,” and help Peru “reconcile as a nation” and become a safer place.

Leo was due to meet clergy and later visit the San Oscar Romero chapel in one of Chiclayo’s poorest neighborhoods, which he helped rebuild.

He will also travel to Cuzco, more than 3,400 meters (11,000 feet) above sea level, and Callao, where as bishop he delivered food and aid to vulnerable communities.

But residents said the return to Chiclayo carries a different meaning.

Bishop Prevost “was always very close to the people… you could run into him on the street — strolling around, greeting people, and chatting,” said Pahola Rojas, a 40-year-old secretary.

“He was very approachable… he inspired a great deal of trust and possessed a lot of charisma.”

For many in Chiclayo, Leo’s visit felt less like a papal tour stop than the homecoming of a bishop who never stopped being one of their own.