Pope Leo XIV’s Peru Return Draws Millions and a Call for Healing

Pope Leo XIV’s Peru Return Draws Millions and a Call for Healing
An estimated three million people lined Lima’s streets on November 11 to welcome Pope Leo XIV, according to local-authority figures cited by the Vatican — the largest crowd of his pontificate. The reception reflected the unusually personal nature of the six-day Peru leg of his South American trip: before becoming pope, he spent about 20 years in the country as a missionary and later served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.

Speaking at Lima’s Gran Teatro Nacional before President Keiko Fujimori and other officials, Leo framed the journey less as a formal state visit than as a return to a place that formed him. “Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own history also belongs to you,” he said, adding that he was returning “to my homeland.”

The celebratory scenes — crowds waving flags and chanting his name as he travelled in an open popemobile — sat alongside a more pointed message about Peru’s political and historical divisions. Without naming the country’s internal conflict directly, the pope said its difficult past should be handled “with justice and sensitivity,” leaving room for harmony and for differences to be addressed respectfully.

Leo’s emphasis on reconciliation also included a broader warning against polarization. He encouraged public officials and citizens alike to cultivate “honesty, integrity and willingness to dialogue with others,” which he described as essential to trust and strong institutions.

He paired that appeal with practical concerns, including violent crime and access to care. For families, he said, peace means being able to work, care for children and return home without fear; he urged authorities to protect life, dignity and rights through law and justice.

The trip also carried a church dimension. On his first full day in Peru, Leo met church leaders and citizens before continuing a schedule that included Lima events and several days in Chiclayo, the northern city where he had been bishop.

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