Fresh off a highly publicized recovery from recent lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV made a triumphant, emotionally charged return to the northern Peruvian region that shaped his decades-long public ministry, drawing an estimated 1.5 million worshippers to an open-air mass in the coastal town of Pimentel, just 10 kilometers outside Chiclayo, last Friday. The landmark event marks the longest stop on the pontiff’s first official Latin American tour since his election as head of the Catholic Church in May 2025, following earlier visits to Argentina and Uruguay.
For local communities, the occasion was far more than a standard papal appearance: Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, held Peruvian citizenship since 2015 and served as Chiclayo’s bishop from 2015 to 2023, forging deep, lasting ties with marginalized groups across the region long before ascending to the Vatican. Tens of thousands of attendees traveled for hours by bus from every corner of Peru, and even crossed over from neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela, many arriving a full 12 hours ahead of the mass to camp out in the 30-plus degree Celsius tropical heat, sharing overnight prayer vigils with family and fellow worshippers. When the papal motorcade came into view, the sprawling crowd fell into a reverent hush before erupting in jubilant chants of “The Pope is from Chiclayo!”
In his address to the gathered faithful, the pontiff expressed profound gratitude for the outpouring of support, particularly the prayers that sustained him through his recent cancer treatment. “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,” he told the crowd. “As I look at your faces, a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord arises in my heart, for the blessing you have been and continue to be in my life.”
Longtime local residents shared vivid, cherished anecdotes of the pontiff’s years serving the region: he was known to frequent the El Trébol restaurant adjacent to Chiclayo’s cathedral for classic Peruvian dishes, enjoyed regular tennis games, and took bold, hands-on action during crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he spearheaded the launch of community soup kitchens to feed vulnerable families, and once rode horseback through waist-deep floodwaters to reach isolated villages cut off by extreme weather. When hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants fleeing their home country’s economic and political crisis arrived in the region, he coordinated directly with migration authorities and local nonprofits to streamline legal residency and work permit applications, preventing thousands of displaced people from living on the streets. He also demonstrated unflinching leadership during a major institutional crisis, overseeing the dissolution of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, a disgraced Peruvian Catholic organization facing decades of substantiated sexual abuse allegations. Peruvian journalist and historian Santiago Roncagliolo, who has extensively researched the pontiff’s career, notes that his transparent, resolute handling of that high-stakes scandal earned him the trust of his predecessor Pope Francis, laying critical groundwork for his eventual election to the papacy.
A small dedicated museum at the entrance of the former Chiclayo bishop’s residence displays photos and mementos from his years of local service, while vendors across the city’s main public square sell commemorative portraits, including the iconic image of him riding horseback to visit a remote rural community. The population of Chiclayo and its surrounding areas, normally 800,000, doubled during the papal visit, as local businesses saw a major surge in sales and hotels raised nightly rates sharply to accommodate the flood of visiting pilgrims. For local parish priest Samuel David Miranda Atoche, who was ordained by Prevost during his tenure as bishop, the visit represents a homecoming for a leader who dedicated his career to uniting fractured communities. “The Pope has come home and Chiclayo is celebrating,” echoed Lisbeth Díaz, a local teacher who collaborated with the pontiff during his years in the city. “He is the man who brought Peruvians closer to the Church.”
The Peruvian city that has embraced Pope Leo as one of its own
