Home · Faith · Nov 14 archive

Pope Leo XIV Returns to Former Diocese in Peru

Updated 12:20 AM ET · 12:18 AM ETConfirmedShare via:          

Faith Desk

In Short: Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, Peru, on Nov. 13, where he celebrated Mass and marked the intersection of his Augustinian spirituality and service to the community.

Pope Leo XIV returns to city he served as bishop. WPLG Local 10

Reflecting on his return, Leo said, “What a joy it is to return to Chiclayo. It is a blessing for me to be with you once again.” He celebrated his first Mass on Peruvian soil at a vast, dusty field outside Chiclayo, where an estimated 2.5 million people gathered.

Leo’s return to his former diocese was emotional, with the pontiff greeting all the servers before Mass and being “very moved,” according to seminarian Darwin Sánchez, who carried the pope's miter during the Mass. Leo’s presence held a “special meaning” for the people of his former diocese, said Bishop Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, the current bishop of Chiclayo.

Leo’s visit to Peru, which began on Nov. 13, is part of a six-day pastoral visit that includes stops in Uruguay and Argentina. He arrived in Lima earlier in the week, where he had mistakenly begun to deliver remarks in Italian before correcting himself and switching to Spanish.

Leo’s relationship with Peru began in 1985, when he was sent as a missionary to the city of Chulucanas, in Peru’s northwestern Piura region. He became a naturalized Peruvian citizen in 2015 and led the Diocese of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023 before his election as Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.

Leo’s return to Chiclayo was a joyous occasion for the people of Peru, who have been joyfully awaiting the “Peruvian” Pope, an Augustinian who served as a missionary in the Piura region and in Trujillo during the 1980s and 1990s.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo XIV returned Friday to his beloved former diocese of Chiclayo and said it was a “joy” to be home, an emotional return underscoring his love for his Peruvian flock and their pride that their shepherd now runs the Catholic Church.
• 13, visiting the South American diocese he led for nearly a decade and celebrating Mass there as pope for the first time.
• The pope has referred to Peru as his “homeland”; prior to leading the Diocese of Chiclayo he served as a missionary there for years.
• 13: Peruvian dancers perform for Pope Leo XIV upon his arrival in Chiclayo, Peru, Nov.
• The Holy Father led the Chiclayo Diocese from 2015 to 2023 before then-Pope Francis appointed him as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
• Launched in 2013, Aleteia is a free online daily news publication.
• “What a joy it is to return to Chiclayo. It is a blessing for me to be with you once again,” Pope Leo said in his homily.
• Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, Illinois, had already referred to Peru, where he served as a missionary for some 20 years, as his homeland in remarks delivered on Wednesday.
• Beyond locals, many of those attending Mass on Friday told reporters that they had journeyed from far-flung regions and even neighboring countries to receive the pope's blessing.
• Over a million people have gathered for Mass with Pope Leo XIV on Friday.
• “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,” Pope Leo said.

What's still developing

• “Oh, sorry, I’m speaking Italian,” he told the crowd.
• Ever since Leo touched down on Peruvian soil on Wednesday, the world has seen a very different pope. Normally reserved and placid, the 71-year-old Leo has seemed at turns positively giddy and overwhelmed with emotion to the point of tears, as was the case on Friday. Chiclayo seminarian Darwin Sánchez, who carried the pope's miter during the Mass, said Leo greeted all the servers before Mass and was "very moved."
• Pope Francis sent the Chicago-born Augustinian to take over as bishop of Chiclayo in 2014 and he stayed until Francis summoned him to Rome in 2023 to run the Vatican's bishops' office.
• “Learning to recognize the Lordʼs voice is essential,” the pope told some 60,000 young people at a Lima stadium vigil, pointing to Christʼs passion as the model.
• One of Leo XIV's first appointments after his election, the discreet 37-year-old aide was ordained a priest in Chiclayo in 2014, shortly after then-Bishop Robert Prevost arrived in the diocese, which he led until 2023.
• Hundreds of thousands gathered at Pampas de Pimentel to reunite with the pontiff, who led the northern Peruvian diocese from 2015 to 2023.
• November 13, 2026 EWTN News Staff News Briefs 0 Print The Holy Father led the Chiclayo Diocese from 2015–2023.
• Despite repeated invitations, Francis, the first Latin American pope, never returned to Argentina during his 12-year papacy.
• Comfort, fear or self-interest, he wrote, can outweigh the good of the faithful long before a bishop ever leaves his diocese in any literal sense.
• Church leaders call for prayers as pre-election violence rocks Nigeria The gift of adoption: One mother’s love can change two families forever Republicans demand more progress in halting Christian persecution in Nigeria During his last public appearance as pope, Benedict XVI said a few words to the crowds assembled outside Castel Gandolfo, where he is expected to reside for the next several months before moving to a […] Sign up to receive a weekly email with news, analysis, and commentary from a voice you can trust!
• Pope Leo XIV, who takes inspiration from Toribio, instead began his journey as a bishop in Zaña.
• The Mass took place at the Pampas de Pimentel grounds, where pilgrims from across Peru and abroad began gathering Thursday night for the pontiff's return to his former diocese.

Sources

• Aleteialink
• Catholicworldreportlink
• DWlink
• Detroit Catholiclink
• NBC Newslink
• National Catholic Reporterlink
• OSV Newslink
• TelegraphHerald.comlink
• Tempo.co Englishlink
• The Arkansas Democrat-Gazettelink
• Warpbeatlink
• upilink
• OSV Newslink
• Ewtnnewslink
• Angelusnewslink
• Vaticannewslink
• WPLG Local 10 — video link
• DRM News — video link
• Scripps News — video link
• DRM News — video link
• CNN — video link
• 13News Now — video link