Pope Leo XIV's return to Peru thrills those who recall 'Padre Robert'

Detailed summary

Seeking to revitalize declining Catholic faith in Latin America, the pope is challenging the austerity and anti-immigrant policies of right-wing leaders.

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MEXICO CITY — While delivering his first speech as pope last year from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo XIV paused, and then briefly switched from Italian to Spanish.

“A greeting to all,” he said, smiling. “And in particular to my dear Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru.”

Before he was elevated to the highest earthly authority in the Catholic Church, Robert Francis Prevost, a 71-year-old Chicago native, spent two decades as a priest and bishop in Peru, where he mastered Spanish and became a naturalized citizen. He served from 2015 until 2023 as diocesan bishop of Chiclayo, a small city near the Pacific coast.

1. A mototaxi passes a mural depicting different stages of Pope Leo XIV’s life in Chiclayo. 2. A mural welcomes Pope Leon XIV to Chiclayo, where he once worked. 3. A worker adjusts the lighting illuminating a life-size cardboard cutout of Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of Chiclayo’s municipal building.

The pontiff returned to Peru this week for the final leg of a celebratory but politically charged Latin America tour, where Catholicism is in decline, eclipsed by the rise of evangelical Christian churches, and a new wave of right-wing politicians have come to power on platforms that often clash with Leo’s teachings.

The visit also comes just weeks after Leo, who was diagnosed with cancer, had surgery to remove a tumor on his lung.

In Argentina, Leo delivered a veiled critique of libertarian President Javier Milei’s austerity campaign, insisting that economies must serve the most vulnerable.

In Buenos Aires, Leo visited a facility that serves more than 400 people with disabilities, a symbolic choice because Milei’s government has withheld funding for disability care. “A nation’s progress,” Leo said, “is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs.”

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