On the second day of his festive homecoming in Chiclayo, his fourth in a Peru where “papamania” is widespread, the missionary Augustinian pope, Leo XIV, retraced the steps of his past ministry as bishop here by presiding at three very personal and emotional events. 

He was accompanied everywhere by enormous, cheering crowds that chanted. “¡Papa, amigo, Chiclayo está contigo!” (Pope, friend, Chiclayo is with you!”), “¡Chiclayo es, el corazón del Papa!” (Chiclayo is the heart of the pope)! and “¡Papa León, te queremos un montón!”, (Pope Leo we love so very much) 

On Saturday morning, Nov. 14, Pope Leo placed a gold crown on the statue of Our Lady in the cathedral of Chiclayo, and explained what she meant to him personally during his eight years as bishop here. 

Immediately afterwards, he took a helicopter ride to the mountain top town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, at an altitude of 2,000 meters in the western range of the Peruvian Andes, to celebrate Mass for the community there. As bishop he came here at least once a year for the feast of el Señor del Costado—the pierced side of Christ [on the cross]—and before departing for Rome in 2023 he had promised he would return for the feast in Sept. 2025, but that was not possible since he was elected pope. Today, he fulfilled that promise.

Later, this Saturday evening, Pope Leo will preside at his last event at Zana, a town about 30 miles from Chiclayo, by leading a prayer service at the Shrine of St. Turbius de Mogrovejo, for the closing of the Jubilee Year for the 300th anniversary of the canonisation of this 16th-century archbishop of Lima and patron saint of Latin American bishops. During a pastoral visitation of his vast diocese that then included this region, St. Turbius fell ill and died in the town of Zana, in (what is now) the diocese of Chiclayo, on March 23, 1606. Leo has a profound personal devotion to this saintly bishop.

This morning, tens of thousands gathered in front of the cathedral, chanted repeatedly “Papa Leon es un Chiclayano” (Pope Leo is Chiclayan) when he arrived for this outdoor ceremony. His smiling face exuded joy, clearly delighted to be here. Everywhere he looked he seemed to recognise people, as was evident from the expression in his eyes, the nod from his head or a hand gesture. 

He recalled in his homily that they had often “celebrated our faith” together in this cathedral “in which I began my episcopal ministry in the service of this diocese of Chiclayo.” He expressed gratitude “for the years the Lord granted us to walk together” and said, now “as the Successor of Peter” he had come to crown this “beautiful image of the Immaculate Virgin Mary” to express his own “gratitude and filial love” as pope, “together with you and the whole Church” as “we acknowledge her as the loving Mother and Patroness of Chiclayo, exalted by God as Queen of heaven and earth.”

Commenting on the reading from Isaiah about the people who lived in darkness on whom a great light has shone, Pope Leo said, “darkness continues to lie in wait even today and seems to envelop us completely. We feel threatened by the uncertainty of widespread violence and by the unspeakable suffering that continues to afflict so many of our brothers and sisters.”

He told them, “despite this darkness, which so often dims our hope and weakens our trust, God’s gift continues to shine before our eyes: ‘For a child has been born for us, a son given to us’ (Is 9:6). This Child is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. Yes, a defenseless child is God’s answer to a humanity plunged into darkness, yet longing for unity and reconciliation.”

He said: “He alone is the light that illumines the most hidden corners of human existence, the only light capable of rescuing us from sin and undoing its disastrous consequences in our personal and communal lives. He reveals who we truly are: sons and daughters of God, invited to share in the joy of his salvation and in the gladness of knowing that we are brothers and sisters.”

It is “with good reason,” he said, that “we invoke the Immaculate Virgin because through her ‘yes’ God made man, entered the history of our world” and “rescues us from the tragedy of sin and reveals to us the eternal destiny to which every man and woman is called.”

He encouraged them to “trust in her intercession and protection” and “to keep walking forward together, as one family of God…that longs for a world marked by love and compassion, forgiveness and the pursuit of justice.”

Then in a very personal act, he entrusted his ministry as pope to the Virgin Mary. He recalled, “At your side I learned to be the shepherd of Chiclayo. You accompanied me through its towns and cities. You taught me to meet its people and to be attentive to their needs, as you did at the Wedding Feast of Cana” and now said, “To your Immaculate Heart I entrust today my life and my ministry as Successor of Peter.”

He also asked her “to watch over and protect the People of God making their pilgrim way in these lands and to guide them always to your Son, Jesus Christ” and then asked to join him in prayer. They cheered and applauded him, and didn’t want him to leave.

Immediately afterwards, he took a 40-minute helicopter ride to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba in the northern Andes to celebrate Mass for the people there. In the past he had often traveled four hours by car or bus, along winding mountain roads to get here as bishop, but not today. 

Santa Cruz was today decorated with yellow and white flags, murals and posters of Leo. It has a population of 5,000 but the some 20,000 crowd gathered here, many of them families, had come from towns and villages in the surrounding area. They cheered, waved yellow and white balloons, took photos with their smart phones as his helicopter circled above them and chanted “Papa León Bienvenida a casa” (“Welcome home”), when he passed near them in the popemobile before Mass. 

Dressed in gold vestments and speaking from a canopied open air platform, the smiling and visibly happy Pope Leo, in his homily, thanked them for their “warm reception” and, quoting Psalm 118 said, “this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” He told them, “In this Eucharist, as I have done so many times, I come to share with you the joy of being a disciple and missionary of Christ.”

He recalled that they were in the western range of the Peruvian Andes, amid steep hills, ravines and fertile valleys “where the Inca Empire flourished and which is the cradle of a profound Christian faith.” 

He acknowledged that many of them had traveled “long distances” to be here, leaving behind their families, farms and daily occupations, and told them “the journey you made is not only a passage along difficult roads, but also a pilgrimage of faith… to encounter Jesus, who is venerated here in the image of el Señor del Costado, to listen to his word, receive his Body and Blood and be strengthened in hope.” A replica of the 17th century image of Señor del Costado hung on the wall behind him.

At Mass, St. John in his third letter asked a Christian named Gaius “to care for the itinerant missionaries and provide for their needs.” Leo recalled that “the same marvelous work took place five centuries ago in these mountains—silent witnesses to the birth of the first Christian communities thanks to the work of missionaries.” He added, “Time and again, they came without provisions or letters of recommendation, to proclaim the name of Jesus and spread devotion to the Lord of Miracles of Andabamba and his Immaculate Mother.”

Pope Leo reminded those present and the millions following on national television or by radio, that “since the arrival of the first missionaries, from Turibius of Mogrovejo [the Spanish born archbishop of Lima] to the Martyrs of Chimbote [two Polish and one Italian priest killed in 1991 by the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) communist guerillas], the seed of the Gospel has never ceased to take root and bear fruit in these lands, quietly, far from applause or great recognition.”

“In this way, here in the high Andes,” he said, “faith has grown simply and genuinely, founded on the daily living of Gospel values and expressed in traditions and festivals that bring peoples and generations together. Faith has become a distinguishing mark and a way of life in which no one ever feels alone, not even in the face of adversity.”

He remarked, “We can say that the warmth and joy that characterize so many Andean regions are rooted in respect for and love of the Lord’s commandments (cf. Ps 112:1), and reflect a thirst for God which only the simple and poor can know.” For this reason, he said, Pope Francis spoke of popular piety as a powerful force for evangelization, in which “the faith, once received, becomes embodied in a culture and is constantly passed on.” Leo added that “popular piety holds essentials such as the land, honest work and the family in high regard, and offers a healthy antidote to the superficiality and consumerism that are so widespread today.”

Leo, the missionary pope, paid tribute and thanks to “the many missionary priests and men and women religious who, over the centuries, have worked generously and devotedly to spread the Kingdom of God on these mountains” and also to “the catechists who, often in the absence of priests and not without sacrifice, provide pastoral care for the communities, guiding their brothers and sisters in the celebration of the Liturgy of the word, preparing them for the Sacraments, visiting the sick and responding to their needs.”

Commenting on the Gospel (Lk. 18:1-8) read at Mass where Jesus spoke of a widow who sought justice from an unjust judge, Leo described her as “a symbol of social disadvantage and dependence in the cultural context of that time. Defenseless and oppressed, the poor woman persistently sought justice from a judge who neither feared God nor respected anyone, and remained indifferent to her pleas. Only through her persistence did she obtain justice.” 

Leo said, “the parable reminds us above all how important it is to pray without ever losing heart” but also invites us “to open our eyes to the many painful situations around us.” He remarked that the widow’s plea to the judge for justice “is sadly still heard today, unanswered, on the lips of so many men and women” and said, “This is a matter of great concern for both the Church and society.” 

In this context, “he recalled the suffering of those who are forced to leave their homeland in search of a better future for themselves and their families in the great coastal cities; of the difficulties surrounding generational succession due to the declining birth rates that are emptying villages; and of the challenge of equitably distributing the land’s resources.”

He told those present and the wider nation, “in the face of so many difficulties, we may be tempted to give in to discouragement, resentment or even violence” and emphasises that “this will never lead to progress and peace.” He said, “the widow in the parable shows us that selfishness, injustice and evil are not overcome by brutality, but by prayer, patience and perseverance in denouncing what is wrong, by making our pleas with determination and working diligently to bring about the necessary changes, while never losing trust in God.” 

The Augustinian pope said “there is a close relationship between faith, prayer and action. Where there is faith, there is prayer; and where there is prayer, there is the capacity to commit oneself to others.” 

He said those who live in the Andes “know this well” and “despite many difficulties, you never lost your trust in God nor, with his help, in yourselves” and added, “It is faith that makes you great in your aspirations and projects.”

He urged them to ask our Lady of the Immaculate Conception to protect them, and he prayed that “El Señor del Costado” may bless and protect them always.

At the end of Mass, speaking off the cuff, Pope Leo recalled that in the Gospel Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man returns will he find faith on earth?” Then, with a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes he told them, “I am sure he will find faith here!” The crowd just loved it, and responded with wild applause and chants. Leo then returned to the bishop’s residence where he had lived for eight years and where he will now spend his last night in Chiclayo.

Tomorrow, in what many see as the most physically challenging day of his marathon journey in Latin America, Pope Leo goes by plane to Cusco in the high Andes, at an altitude of 11,000 feet, and afterwards to the hot and humid Amazonian rainforest city Pucallpa, and then returns to Lima for his last night in Peru, before departing for Rome on Nov. 16

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.