‘For us, the Pope is Peruvian’: Andean nation cheers Pope Leo XIV

Then-Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, celebrates Mass at St. Jude Parish, in New Lenox, Illinois, U.S., in 2024. Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel/Handout via REUTERS 

LIMA — In the Peruvian coastal city of Chiclayo, some 5,000 kilometers from new Pope Leo XIV’s hometown of Chicago, Catholics took to the streets and church bells rang on Thursday to celebrate the election of the former missionary who they embrace as one of their own.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, chosen as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is a dual U.S.-Peruvian citizen who worked for decades in the north of Peru, first as a missionary and later as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.

In the small city, the faithful gathered in front of the cathedral in the heat on Thursday after white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. As the announcement was made, they jumped and cheered. Bells tolled around the city.

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“We are excited by this blessing from God,” Jesús León Ángeles, who is coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo and has known Prevost since 2018, told Reuters by phone.

“We had been praying since yesterday when the conclave of cardinals began at the Vatican to elect the pope.”

León Ángeles said she had worked closely with Prevost on a number of charitable and social assistance projects in Chiclayo and nearby Trujillo, and in other impoverished towns across the country.

She told Reuters previously that Prevost was humble and down-to-earth, as well as being a person who liked to help others.

“He is someone who has leadership skills, but is also a good listener,” she said before the election. “He has that virtue. He is very well-liked, we love him very much, he is not an arrogant person.”

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In the Plaza de Armas, the main square of Peru’s capital Lima, dozens of people gathered at the cathedral next to the government palace.

“In the office we were waiting anxiously for the white smoke to see who would be elected Holy Father,” said lawyer Carolina Flores.

“It is a tremendous gift from heaven that he is Peruvian. For us the Pope is Peruvian. He is Peruvian because he has lived decades in Peru, he was a bishop in Chiclayo,” she said.

After the election at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and greeted the waiting crowds. During his first address as pope, he spoke briefly in Spanish, sending greetings to Peru and to Chiclayo.

Prevost was made a cardinal in 2023 by Argentine pontiff Francis, who brought him to Rome to head the Vatican office charged with electing priests to serve as bishops worldwide. He has since participated in the selection of many of the world’s bishops.

Lima resident Salvador Oliva Ramos said that he was sure the new pope would come back to visit his adopted homeland and “fix” things in the country – as well as enjoy some of the local cuisine.

“He’s a Pope who eats ceviche, eats his beans with mutton, eats his cau cau,” he said outside the cathedral, referring to popular local dishes. “I assure you that one year from now, the pope will visit for the food.”