As Peruvians lined the streets to welcome Leo XIV, the Pope proclaimed that he had returned to his “homeland” and spoke warmly about the years he spent in Peru as a missionary and bishop.
Leo’s arrival into Lima on Wednesday evening was treated as a triumphant return by locals, who took to the streets in large numbers to welcome the Pope who spent around 22 years in the South American country.
“This return visit holds a very special meaning for me,” commented Leo, during his address to President Keiko Fujimori and assembled politicians at the Gran Teatro Nacional. He praised Peruvians for having “opened the doors of their homes to me” during his years spent as a missionary priest and later as bishop of Chiclayo.
