Pope Leo XIV landed in Chiclayo on Friday beginning an emotional return to the northern Peruvian city where he served as bishop between 2015 and 2023.
The six-day Peru leg forms the final and longest stage of the pontiff’s inaugural South American tour following stops in Uruguay and Argentina. Known before his election as Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born Augustinian missionary spent more than two decades in Peru and acquired Peruvian nationality in 2015 according to Vatican reporting and regional coverage.
Pope Leo XIV flies aboard a Peruvian Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopter from Chiclayo to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, where he celebrates Mass in the town that is part of the Diocese of Chiclayo. pic.twitter.com/4INdjOYPv3
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Throngs of residents turned out across Chiclayo to welcome back the religious leader who was elected on May 8, 2025. Vatican estimates cited by Ámbito placed the attendance at half a million people for the outdoor Mass at the Pampas de Pimentel, while roughly one million lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the papamóvil.
During his stay in Chiclayo, the pontiff resided at the Residencia Episcopal, his home throughout his tenure leading the local diocese reported Religion Digital.
Highlights of Pope Leo XIV’s prayer of the Liturgy of the Word and crowning of an image of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in Chiclayo, Peru, where he once again entrusted his episcopal ministry to Our Lady. pic.twitter.com/dB2rBN2xYT
— Post by @VaticanNews on X
The humble episcopal building sits beside the Cathedral of Santa María in the city center next to busy shops on Elías Aguirre Street, displaying a welcome banner on its facade. Parish priest José Alonso had noted prior to the arrival that the pontiff maintained contact from the Vatican to monitor the construction progress.
On November 14, the pope visited the Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, where he served as Grand Chancellor from 2015 to 2023 noted Omnes. The university was founded in 1998 on the initiative of then-bishop Ignacio María de Orbegozo y Goicoechea.
The pontiff was welcomed by the current Grand Chancellor and Bishop of Chiclayo, Monsignor Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, and rector Patricia Julia Campos Olazábal. Addressing students and faculty, he warned against the risks of technocratic paradigms and transhumanism.
Following the morning ceremonies in Chiclayo, the pontiff boarded a Peruvian Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopter to travel to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba in the western Andean sierra of Cajamarca reported Reuters.
In the mountain town situated about 2,000 meters above sea level with fewer than 6,000 residents, he celebrated an open-air Mass in a massive clearing. The local welcoming committee included the Reverend Kevin Noriega, a local priest ordained in 2018 by Robert Prevost.