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Pope Leo XIV Returns to Peruvian Diocese
· Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV, who served as bishop of Chiclayo for nearly a decade, returned to the city where he was affectionately nicknamed “Padre Roberto.” He arrived at Chiclayo’s airport on the Pacific coast and immediately headed to a vast, dusty field outside Chiclayo for his first Mass on Peruvian soil.
Pope Leo XIV returns to Peruvian diocese. ABC News
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.
Some had been waiting since the previous night to catch a glimpse of the pontiff, many of them forced to walk as lines of cars had blocked the roads where vendors sold hats, mini pope dolls, and sweet Peruvian bread.
Reflecting on a figure of a mother holding a baby, the pope said, “The unborn already belong to the human family,” adding that protecting unborn children must be accompanied by support for mothers, fathers, and families.
The pontiff, known here as “Padre Roberto,” arrived at Chiclayo’s airport on the Pacific coast and immediately headed to a vast, dusty field outside Chiclayo for his first Mass on Peruvian soil.
The return to his former adoptive home after adjusting to life at the Vatican appeared to lead to an amusing moment of confusion for the multilingual pontiff in Lima earlier on Friday, as he mistakenly began to deliver remarks in Italian, before correcting himself and switching to Spanish.
Pope Leo XIV’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.
The pope has referred to Peru as his “homeland”; prior to leading the Diocese of Chiclayo, he served as a missionary there for years.
Hundreds of thousands gathered at Pampas de Pimentel to reunite with the pontiff, who led the northern Peruvian diocese from 2015 to 2023.
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.
Pope Leo XIV, who takes inspiration from Toribio, instead began his journey as a bishop in Zaña.
Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Peru, which began on Nov. 13, is part of a six-day pastoral visit that includes stops in Uruguay and Argentina.
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.
Background
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 returned to Chiclayo, Peru, on Nov. 13, where he celebrated Mass and marked the intersection of his Augustinian spirituality and service to the community.
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.
- The pontiff, known here as “Padre Roberto,” arrived at Chiclayo’s airport on the Pacific coast and immediately headed to a vast, dusty field outside Chiclayo for his first Mass on Peruvian soil.
- 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.
What's still developing
- “Oh, sorry, I’m speaking Italian,” he told the crowd.
- Pope Leo Draws 2.5 Million to Argentina Mass, Warns Against Austerity An estimated 2.5 million people attended Pope Leo XIV's open-air mass in Buenos Aires on Monday, according to local authorities.
- 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.
- In one of his rare interviews, the Peruvian priest explained that he had taken to heart the words of St. John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease” ( Jn 3:30 ).
- 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.
- Bishop Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, the current bishop of Chiclayo, said that Pope Leo's presence holds a "special meaning" for the people of his former diocese.
- 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.
- He was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, and is a naturalized Peruvian citizen, who speaks five languages- English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese- in addition to reading Latin and German.
Sources
- Aleteialink
- Catholicworldreportlink
- NBC Newslink
- National Catholic Reporterlink
- OSV Newslink
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- Tempo.co Englishlink
- The Arkansas Democrat-Gazettelink
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- ABC News — video link
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- WPLG Local 10 — video link