After two decades of service in Peru, Pope Leo XIV plans a return visit this November, including stops in Lima and his former Diocese of Chiclayo.
Pope Leo XIV will travel to Peru in early November, Peru’s interim president, José María Balcázar, announced on Thursday, June 18. The Pope is expected to make stops in his former diocese of Chiclayo, as well as in Lima (the capital of Peru), Piura, and Pucallpa. Balcázar indicated that the Holy Father would also visit a number of “small towns in the north and also in the jungle.” The visit could last as long as 8 to 10 days, the interim president added.
The Peruvian head of state made this announcement after what he called a "wonderful and friendly meeting” with the Pope, who has held dual American-Peruvian citizenship since 2015.
“We spoke for two hours, and he was able to confirm for us that he will be in Peru in the first half of November,” Balcázar told journalists. “After Lima, he’ll go to Chiclayo, then to Piura and from there to Pucallpa, in the Amazon rainforest. And he’ll visit Cuzco too,” he said. According to Spanish news agency Cope, Balcázar explained that Peru would put helicopters at the Holy Father’s disposal to facilitate his travel in remote areas.
The Vatican has not yet made any official announcement of the visit. However, this would not be the first time that the host country has confirmed a visit before an official announcement from the Holy See. France recently published details of an upcoming papal visit before the Vatican made them public.
A personal connection with Peru
Leo XIV’s personal connection with Peru is deeper than the legal status of citizenship. He lived there for two decades, in various pastoral and administrative roles. During that time, he forged close friendships with clergy and laity alike.
His first period there was in Piura, where he spent a year (1985-1986) while preparing his doctoral thesis. He returned to Peru, this time in Trujillo, in 1988. He was in the country until 1999, carrying out a variety of roles; among them, he was a prior, formation director, judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of Trujillo, professor, and pastor.
He left Peru in 1999 to fulfill other leadership roles entrusted to him by his Augustinian community. In 2014, Pope Francis sent him back, this time as Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo. He became bishop of the diocese in 2015 and remained until 2023, when Pope Francis called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Peruvian politics: Not an obstacle
Peru is currently going through a close presidential election; the results of the June 7 election are still pending. The winner will be the 9th Peruvian president in 10 years, the result of a series of scandals, resignations, and impeachments.
Leo XIV’s predecessor Francis never visited his home country of Argentina while pope, reportedly because he reasonably feared such a visit would be politically manipulated. According to Balcázar, the current pontiff hopes that the current transition will go smoothly and does not believe the upcoming visit to his adopted home of Peru will be politically problematic.
