Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, the city in northern Peru where he once served as a priest and bishop, and found it waiting for him in numbers that reached more than a million and a half. It is the kind of homecoming that reminds us how a person's earlier years, lived among neighbors and in parish courtyards, can outlast the titles that come later. Within that welcome he chose to speak plainly: to the clergy who now carry his former work, he spoke against clericalism; to young people, he cautioned against technology that leaves the soul behind; and he named machismo and called for women to
Pope Leo XIV Returns to Chiclayo, Peru, Where Over 1.5 Million Welcome Him Home
The city came out in force for the man it still calls Father Robert
Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, the city in northern Peru where he once served as a priest and bishop, and found it waiting for him in numbers that reached more than a million and a half. It is the kind of homecoming that reminds us how a person's earlier years, lived among neighbors and in parish courtyards, can outlast the titles that come later. Within that welcome he chose to speak plainly: to the clergy who now carry his former work, he spoke against clericalism; to young people, he cautioned against technology that leaves the soul behind; and he named machismo and called for women to be protected. The visit thus joins affection for a former shepherd with a challenge to the church and society he still considers his own.
Pope Leo XIV went back to Chiclayo, the diocese in northern Peru that he once led, and the city came out for him. Reports from the Washington Post put the crowd at more than 1.5 million, and NBC News described the return as emotional, with the pope calling the place his "beloved diocese."
To many in Chiclayo he was still Father Robert, the pastor who had walked their streets and parishes long before he became pope. That memory gave the welcome its warmth, and it also gave his message weight, because the people hearing it knew him as one of their own.
The pope did not hold back. He urged local clergy to reject clericalism, the habit of priests placing themselves above the people they serve. He warned students against soulless technology, speaking to a generation shaped by digital life, though the available coverage gives only the headline of that remark. The Associated Press reported that he also denounced machismo and demanded the protection of women.
The visit held affection and admonition together. What follows is the rest of his time in Peru, and whether the themes he raised in Chiclayo appear again in the places he goes next.
Pope Leo XIV went back to Chiclayo, the diocese in northern Peru he once led, and the city turned out for him. The Washington Post reported that more than 1.5 million people welcomed him there. NBC News described the visit as an emotional return to what the pope called his "beloved diocese."
The New York Times framed Chiclayo as the pope's other home and said the city came out in force to welcome a man many there still knew as Father Robert. That detail matters. For the crowds, the visitor was not only a pontiff but a former pastor and bishop whose earlier years were spent in their own streets and parishes.
The visit was not only a homecoming, though. According to OSV News, Leo used his time in Chiclayo to speak directly to the local clergy and urged them to reject clericalism. The word names an attitude in which priests set themselves above the people they serve, and the pope addressed it to the men who now carry on the work he once did in that diocese.
He also spoke to young people. OSV News reported that he warned students against soulless technology, a caution aimed at an audience that has grown up with digital tools. The coverage available here gives the headline of that message but not the full text of what he said or the setting in which he said it.
The Associated Press reported a third strand of the visit: Leo denounced machismo and demanded that women be protected. It described the remarks as part of an emotional return to Peru. The wire's wording puts the call for protection plainly, as a demand rather than a suggestion.
Taken together, the reports show a visit that mixed affection with admonition. The size of the welcome, counted at more than 1.5 million by the Post, shows how deeply Chiclayo still claims him. The messages he delivered there, to priests, students and the wider public, were pointed ones, and he delivered them among people who know him by his earlier name.
What comes next is the rest of his engagements in Peru. Readers can watch whether the themes he raised in Chiclayo, clericalism, technology and the protection of women, recur in his later stops in the country.
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He called Chiclayo his beloved diocese.— Pope Leo XIV, as reported by NBC News
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