Pope Leo XIV Lands in Peru for Historic Homecoming Visit
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MENAFNFujimori met the pontiff at the airport herself, greeting him with full head-of-state honors. He then rode in the popemobile through Lima’s historic center, where thousands of Peruvians crowded the streets on his way to the presidential palace.
Peru is the last stop on Leo XIV’s first tour of Latin America, which also took him to Uruguay and Argentina.
For the former Robert Prevost, the visit is a return to the country that shaped his career in the Church. He came to Peru in 1985 as an Augustinian missionary and later became Bishop of Chiclayo, before being called to the Vatican in 2023.
Only hours before, the pontiff wrapped up a four-day stay in Argentina with a farewell ceremony at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Ezeiza. A ceremonial guard of grenadiers stood alongside as he blessed tearful well-wishers and shared emotional goodbyes with Argentine President Javier Milei, who appeared visibly moved. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and Presidential Secretary Karina Milei were also on hand.
He then boarded a flight to Lima with the Vatican delegation and the journalists traveling with him.
Earlier, before leaving Argentina, the Pope led an open-air Mass in the plaza facing the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan, with millions of the faithful in attendance.
“Farewell, my dear Argentina! Thank you, Argentina, for welcoming me with open arms!” Leo XIV said to applause, reflecting on his personal connection to the region.
“Now you have two Popes: one who was born here and another by adoption,” he said, referring to Pope Francis, who was born in Argentina but never visited the country during his papacy.
Peru makes up half of the pontiff’s South American itinerary, which covers four major regions. In Lima he met with Fujimori. In Cusco, he is due to meet Indigenous communities and pastoral leaders in the southern Andes. His stop in Pucallpa will center on environmental protection and the preservation of the Amazon rainforest. He will also visit Chiclayo, the northern diocese where he served as bishop for eight years.
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