Pope Leo XIV welcomed back to Peru amid hopes for action on poverty and insecurity
The pope returned to the country where he spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop, drawing crowds eager for a message addressing Peru’s challenges.
By Marina Weber ·
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday for the last stop of his three-country South American tour, receiving an enthusiastic welcome in the nation he considers his second homeland. Thousands lined his motorcade route, waving Peruvian and Vatican flags, as his return raised hopes that he would draw attention to poverty, violent crime and political instability.
President Keiko Fujimori greeted Leo at an air base near Lima after his charter flight landed. The smiling pontiff embraced two children carrying flowers, greeted people gathered on the tarmac, held a baby and listened to a children’s choir. Previously known as Robert Prevost, Leo spent more than 20 years in Peru as a missionary priest and later a bishop. He holds both Peruvian and US citizenship and is the first pope from either country.
Celebrations extended beyond the airport. A 14-metre statue of Leo was unveiled in the port of El Callao, while Lima baristas served cappuccinos bearing his likeness. Hundreds sang with a Catholic choir outside the presidential palace, where a stage and large screens had been installed under tight security. In Chiclayo, where he served as bishop, murals and merchandise featuring the pope reflected the excitement surrounding his return.
Leo is scheduled to celebrate Mass in places connected to his years in Peru, including the sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña, a centre of Afro-Peruvian culture. He frequently visited the sanctuary to pray. His planned address outside Lima’s cathedral, focusing on Peruvians’ challenges and hopes, will receive particular attention because of his familiarity with the country.
Peru’s 34 million people face income inequality, violent crime and the approaching effects of El Niño. In 2025, monetary poverty affected 25.7% of the population. Gustavo Morello, an associate professor of sociology at Boston College, said favourable macroeconomic conditions coexist with widespread structural poverty and economic insecurity. Rolando Pérez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, said many people who feel abandoned by the state remember Leo as a pastor who supported their demands for justice.
The itinerary includes Mass in Pucallpa, in the Peruvian Amazon, to honour Indigenous peoples. Communities there are affected by illegal gold mining and coca cultivation, which supplies the raw material for cocaine. Pérez described the Amazon as a place where environmental damage, exclusion, violence and extreme poverty converge. In Cusco, Leo will meet groups of faithful and representatives of local traditions, and celebrate Mass in the main square where Indigenous leader Túpac Amaru II was killed in 1781.
The visit also comes amid deep frustration with political leadership. Fujimori took office in July promising to restore order. Peru has had nine presidents since July 2016, while insecurity and rising food costs have added to public dissatisfaction. Political scientist Alonso Cárdenas of Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University criticised the government’s response, saying it lacked a strategy.
Véronique Lecaros, head of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, said the Catholic Church retains greater credibility than any other Peruvian institution despite widespread exhaustion with politics and corruption. Pew Research Center figures put the Catholic share of the population at about 67%, down from 76% in 2013-2014. Lecaros said the pope’s example could renew interest in the Church, although the conduct of its lay and clerical leaders would ultimately matter.
