From CBS News · · 3m
Pope Leo returns to Peru, his spiritual homeland
Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lima for the final leg of his South America tour, calling Peru his homeland after decades serving there as a priest and bishop.
In brief
Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lima for the final leg of his South America tour, calling Peru his homeland after decades serving there as a priest and bishop. Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday, calling it his homeland after spending over two decades there as a missionary priest and bishop before becoming pontiff…
Pope arrives in Lima calling Peru home
Pope Leo XIV declared Peru his homeland on Wednesday as he arrived in Lima for the final leg of his South America tour. The Vatican estimated three million people lined his motorcade route into town.
“Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you.”
Leo spent decades in Peru as a priest
The Chicago-born Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, spent more than two decades in Peru as a missionary priest and later bishop.
Meeting with President Fujimori at the palace
Pope Leo met privately with Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori at the presidential palace. During the formal welcome ceremony, he sang the Peruvian national anthem alongside Fujimori and a children's choir.
Peruvians celebrate their beloved Padre Robert
A forty-six-foot statue of the pope was unveiled in the port of El Callao.Baristas in Lima offered cappuccinos decorated with his image, and he appeared on T-shirts, baseball hats and bobblehead dolls throughout the country.
Leo will visit Chiclayo and other cities
Pope Leo arrives in Chiclayo on Friday, where he served as bishop of the northern city near the Pacific Coast.
Key speech on Peru's future Thursday
Pope Leo will deliver a speech Thursday from the square in front of Lima's cathedral on the challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people.
Pope to honor Indigenous peoples in Amazon
Pope Leo will travel to Pucallpa in Peru's Amazon to celebrate Mass and honor Indigenous peoples. Illegal gold mining and coca leaf cultivation are affecting Indigenous communities in the region.
Cusco visit includes historic square
Pope Leo will meet with popular groups and local traditions representatives in Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire.
Pope recovered from lung cancer surgery
Pope Leo arrived in Peru about one month after undergoing surgery in Italy to remove a nodular lesion from his right lung. The seventy-one-year-old was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, and surgeons confirmed the operation was successful.
Pope voted in U.S. midterm elections
At the start of his trip, Pope Leo confirmed he voted by mail in the U.S. midterm elections in Chicago, becoming the first sitting pontiff to vote in a U.S. election.
The takeaway
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday, calling it his homeland after spending over two decades there as a missionary priest and bishop before becoming pontiff.
