«I return to my homeland»: Leo XIV returns to Peru and calls for national unity

—By Courtney Mares, OSV News

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima on November 11 for the long-awaited final leg of his 12-day apostolic journey to South America, landing in the country the Pope described as «one of my many homes.».

The return «of a family member»

This visit marks Pope Leo XIII's first return to Peru since his election and takes him back to a country where he spent two decades that shaped his ministry as an Augustinian missionary and bishop. He first arrived in Peru as a missionary priest in 1985 and later returned to lead the Diocese of Chiclayo, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

In his first speech as Pope, he addressed a special greeting in Spanish from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to «my beloved Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru,» where, he said, «a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith and given so much, so much, to continue being the faithful Church of Jesus Christ.».

For the Peruvian people, the apostolic visit is not just a welcome back to the Vicar of Christ; it is the return of a missionary, a neighbor, and a pastor who understood the realities of those who live there, particularly the poor and marginalized. Numerous welcome signs and banners with images of the Pope are displayed throughout the streets of Chiclayo as the city awaits his return.

«It feels like the return of a family member who has been away,» Mildred Camacho, the goddaughter of Pope Leo 31, told OSV News the day before his arrival.

Camacho, who was named after Pope Leo XIII's late mother, Mildred, is volunteering for the papal visit. Father Robert Francis Prevost was just 40 years old when she was baptized shortly after her first birthday in August 1996 in Chulucanas, Peru.

The papal flight landed at Callao Air Base in Lima at around 5 pm local time, after traveling some 2,000 miles in a four-hour and 20-minute flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori greeted Pope Leo at the foot of the steps, and two children presented him with flowers. A children's choir sang hymns in Latin, and the crowds lining his route cheered enthusiastically as he greeted those present—especially babies and children—and accepted gifts from the people.

Pope Leo's first stop in Peru was the Government Palace for the official welcoming ceremony and a private meeting with Fujimori, who assumed the presidency in July, becoming the country's ninth female president in 10 years.

People thronged the streets, waving and cheering to see the papal motorcade as Pope Leo made his way from the airport to the city center. The Holy See estimated that 3 million people were in the streets of Lima to welcome Pope Leo that evening.

The Pope's first speech in Peru

That same night, the Pope addressed the country's political authorities at the National Grand Theater, in his first speech in Peru.

«This return has a very special meaning for me,» he said. «My story with Peru began long before the Lord entrusted me with the Diocese of Chiclayo. For years I shared the lives of its people, listened to their concerns, and learned from their faith. Many opened their homes to me, shared their tables with me—and, of course, some good ceviche—and made me feel like one of their own.».

Noting that he received Peruvian citizenship in 2015, he added: «That act manifested a bond that this people had been weaving in my life for a long time. Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own history also belongs to you.».

Now, as Pope, he said, he recognizes how the Lord was «forming him as a pastor» while he was in Peru.

«If I were granted the chance to relive those years, I would do so again with joy, embracing both their happy moments and their hardships,» he said. «That is why I can tell you, with profound gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland.».

He spoke about the impact of the Gospel on the history of Peru when it was first proclaimed there almost 500 years ago. «The faith took deep root in these lands and found expression in its traditions and in countless works of charity,» he said. «It is enough to remember that the first flower of Latin American holiness bore the name Rose, and that rose was Peruvian,» referring to Saint Rose of Lima, a Dominican tertiary who lived in the capital of Peru between 1586 and 1617, and was the first canonized saint of the Americas.

A call for unity

The Holy Father also urged officials to listen to the Peruvian people, noting that «democratic life brings together people of diverse convictions and aspirations, united by the same national destiny.».

«I would like to encourage everyone to cultivate honesty, integrity and a willingness to meet, qualities that sustain trust between people and give solidity to the life of institutions,» said Pope Leo.

Families should not be deprived of peace, which, for them, includes «going out to work without fear, taking care of their children and returning home with serenity,» she said.

The Associated Press has reported that crime, extortion, and murder have been on the rise in Peru, with the homicide rate reaching 10.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 5.8 five years ago.

The Pope acknowledged the suffering caused by violence and expressed the Church's desire to «remain close to those who suffer from it,» he said.

Among Peru's challenges are also inequality and poverty: in 2025, 25.7% of the Peruvian population lived in poverty, according to government data.

Speaking to the country's authorities, the Pope also pointed out that «providing for one's family with dignity is also part of that daily peace» and that development also has a cultural, moral, and spiritual dimension.

«There are goods that no economic prosperity can replace: peace of conscience, the certainty of being loved, and the freedom to seek the truth and guide one's life accordingly,» he stated.

In highlighting the need for unity in the country, Pope Leo also said that «to love a people is to desire that all may live with dignity in it, to take an interest in it and to be willing to offer something of oneself for its good.».

«It is a feeling that I have come to understand better thanks to you and that I wish to share today with those who hold public office,» he said.

The Pope also listed different expressions of solidarity that are preserved in Peru, such as community work projects, women who run soup kitchens and food programs, and the different ways in which families help each other in times of difficulty.

The Pope asked God, through the intercession of Mary and all the saints and blessed of the country, «that the love of Christ may help them to recognize, in every Peruvian, a brother, a sister and, in each one, one more reason to love their homeland.».

He concluded his speech by asking for God's blessings for Peru and all its inhabitants.

The Pope's next steps

On his second day in Lima, November 12, Pope Leo XIII is scheduled to meet with the bishops of Peru and lead mid-morning prayer at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist with the country's Catholic community. He is also scheduled to deliver an address in front of the cathedral on the challenges and hopes of the Peruvian people. That evening, Pope Leo XIII will meet with young people and university students at the National Stadium for a prayer vigil.

In addition to Lima, Peru's capital and largest city, Pope Leo XIII will also visit Chiclayo, where he will celebrate an open-air Mass; Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire in the Andes; and Pucallpa, a city on the banks of the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest that has long been a center of Catholic evangelization. The Holy Father will travel back to Rome on November 16 and arrive at the Vatican on November 17.