A pope born in the United States, long ago made a citizen of Peru through two decades of pastoral work there, has arrived in Lima for a six-day stay that he calls a homecoming. Millions gathered along his route, and the moment carries the weight of a man returning to the people among whom he first learned to serve. In a country tired of its rulers, his counsel toward honesty, humility, and preparation for disaster speaks to what a nation must still build within itself.
Pope Leo XIV Returns to Peru, Calls It His 'Homeland' Before Crowds the Vatican Estimates at 3 Million
Today I understand how much of this land remains with me
Mark
Why does this visit feel different from a typical papal trip?
Mimi
Because he isn't a visitor in the usual sense. He holds Peruvian citizenship and spent over two decades there as a missionary and then bishop of Chiclayo. He said he was returning to his homeland.
Mark
The crowd figure is huge. 3 million people.
Luke
It's the Vatican's estimate, relayed by the AP. It isn't an independent count, so I'd hold it loosely.
Mark
What did he actually ask of Peruvians?
Mimi
Honesty and integrity, and the humility to accept that no one has all the answers. He also called for stronger disaster prevention, given the El Niño-linked floods and landslides.
Mark
Is that a political message?
Luke
The source doesn't say he named anyone. The context is nine presidents since 2016 and homicides nearly doubled in five years, but connecting his words to those facts is our inference, not his statement.
Mimi
President Fujimori spoke of reconciliation as an unfinished task after the insurgent violence and state abuses.
Mark
And the Church's standing?
Mimi
A theology professor told AP it's the most credible institution in the country, though Catholics have fallen from 76% to about 67%, per Pew.
Luke
And his health is unresolved. He had part of a lung removed in mid-October, and the high-altitude stop is described as risky. How it goes, we don't know yet.
Il Polso
- Roughly three million people lined the streets of Lima as the pope arrived for a visit that lands in the middle of public exhaustion with leadership.
- Nine presidents in under a decade and homicides nearly doubled in five years have left the country restless and searching for stability.
- Pope Leo urged honesty, integrity, and humility, while President Keiko Fujimori answered with a call to reconcile decades of violence and division.
- Stronger disaster prevention is now urgent after El Niño floods and landslides, and critics say the government has yet to show a clear response to rising killings.
- The pope's health is fragile after a lung removal in October, and his high-altitude stop at 3,700 meters carries real risk before his scheduled return on November 17.
A pope born in the United States, long ago made a citizen of Peru through two decades of pastoral work there, has arrived in Lima for a six-day stay that he calls a homecoming. Millions gathered along his route, and the moment carries the weight of a man returning to the people among whom he first learned to serve. In a country tired of its rulers, his counsel toward honesty, humility, and preparation for disaster speaks to what a nation must still build within itself.
On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima to open the Peruvian leg of his South America tour, and the Vatican estimated that about three million people lined his motorcade route. He calls Peru his homeland, and the claim is not only sentiment: he holds Peruvian citizenship, served there for more than twenty years as a missionary and then as bishop of Chiclayo, and is the first pope from either the United States or Peru.
At the presidential palace he sang the national anthem beside President Keiko Fujimori. He told Peruvians that he understood more clearly how much of the land stayed with him and how much of his own story belonged to its people. His counsel was practical as well: cultivate honesty and integrity, accept that no one holds all the answers, and prepare seriously against the floods and landslides that El Niño keeps bringing.
Fujimori spoke of reconciliation and of the unfinished work of healing after decades of insurgent violence, state abuses, and political division. Many Peruvians, however, are weary of their leaders, with nine presidents since 2016 and homicides nearly doubled in five years. Analysts see little reaction or strategy so far from the government.
The Church, by contrast, is widely seen as the most credible institution in the country, though its share of the population has fallen from 76 percent to about 67 percent. The trip also carries physical risk: Leo had part of a lung removed in October because of a tumor, and his schedule includes a stop at 3,700 meters. He is due back in Rome on November 17. What to watch is whether the visit eases public weariness and whether the government answers the rising killings and the call for reconciliation.
On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima to open the Peruvian leg of his South America tour. The Vatican estimated that about 3 million people lined the route of his motorcade, according to the Associated Press. It was the start of a six-day visit to a country he described, in his first remarks there, as coming home.
The description is more than sentiment. Leo holds Peruvian citizenship. He spent more than two decades in Peru, first as a missionary priest and later as bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo, before becoming pope. He is also a US citizen, and he is the first pope from either the United States or Peru.
At the presidential palace he sang Peru's national anthem alongside President Keiko Fujimori. In his remarks he said that he now understood how much of this land remained with him and how much of his own story also belonged to its people. He added that he was also returning to his homeland.
His message to Peruvians was practical as well as personal. He urged them to cultivate honesty and integrity, and to accept that no one has all the answers. He also called for stronger disaster prevention in a country that is regularly hit by floods and landslides linked to El Niño.
Fujimori spoke of reconciliation. She said Peru must face the unfinished task of healing after decades of insurgent violence, state abuses and sharp political divisions.
The welcome arrives at a time when many Peruvians are weary of their leaders. The country has had nine presidents since July 2016, and homicide rates have nearly doubled in five years. Political science professor Alonso Cardenas told AP he sees no sign of a reaction and no strategy from Fujimori's government.
The Church stands in a different position. Theology professor Veronique Lecaros told AP that it is more credible than any other Peruvian institution. That standing comes even as Pew data show the Catholic share of the population falling from 76% to about 67%.
The trip carries a physical risk. Leo had part of a lung removed in mid-October because of a malignant tumor, and his schedule includes a stop at 3,700 meters, about 12,140 feet, which is considered risky given that surgery. He is due back at the Vatican on November 17. What to watch is whether the visit eases the public's weariness with its leaders, and whether the Fujimori government answers the rise in killings and the reconciliation agenda the pope's presence has put in front of it.
Citazioni salienti
Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you.— Pope Leo XIV, in Lima
Peru must face the unfinished task of reconciliation.— President Keiko Fujimori (paraphrased)
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Deutsche Welle ↗