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Pope Leo XIV has returned to Peru, the country he considers his second homeland, amid a massive popular celebration. Around three million people, according to Vatican estimates, gathered along the route of his motorcade through Lima to welcome the Pontiff, who, as part of his tour of Latin America, is beginning a six-day visit to the country where he spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop.
“The Pope is Peruvian!” some of those present chanted, according to AP, as Leo XIV travelled through the streets of the capital, which were decked out with Peruvian and Vatican flags. The 71-year-old Pontiff, who was born in Chicago, looked visibly moved on his arrival and took part in the official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace, where he sang the national anthem together with the president, Keiko Fujimori, and a children’s choir.
In his first speech to the authorities and the diplomatic corps, Leo XIV stressed the deep ties he maintains with the country, reinforced by the Peruvian nationality he acquired in 2015. “Today I understand how much of this land remains in me and how much of my own story also belongs to you,” he said.
The Pontiff said that the years he spent in Peru, sharing the lives, joys and difficulties of its people, helped to shape him as a pastor. “That is why I can say to you, with deep gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland,” he added, to applause.
Leo XIV also used his first meeting with political representatives to call on Peru to confront the most painful chapters of its history with “justice and sensitivity”, a reference to the deep divisions that still mark national politics.
Among those present was President Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who died in 2024 and whose rule during the 1990s was marked by violence, human rights abuses and the fight against the Shining Path guerrilla movement.
A tour with a heavy emotional weight
The trip is the final leg of a Latin American tour that has taken the Pope to Uruguay and Argentina before arriving in Peru. He will stay in the Andean country for almost a week and is due to travel from the Amazon to the Andes, with a visit to Cuzco, at more than 3,400 metres above sea level, and an especially emotional return to Chiclayo, where he served as bishop for a decade.
The visit comes at a time of significant difficulties for Peru, marked by political instability, crime, rising living costs and recurrent natural disasters. In this context, the Pope called for citizens to be able to live and work “without fear” and urged the authorities to make greater efforts to prevent natural disasters and protect lives.
The Latin American tour has also been marked by his social appeals. During his stay in Argentina, Leo XIV argued for a more inclusive economy and greater protection for vulnerable groups, including the poor, migrants, the sick and prisoners, in remarks that were interpreted as a criticism of the spending cuts by Javier Milei’s government.