Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Chiclayo, Peru, where he was bishop for eight years

A return to Chiclayo

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass on Friday, 13 November, at Pampas de Pimentel, a desert park about 10 km from Chiclayo in northern Peru. He served as bishop of the diocese for about eight years before Pope Francis summoned him to Rome in 2023, and he was later elected pontiff. Some of the faithful kept vigil overnight, and others arrived 12 hours early to wait before the service began. Born Robert Prevost in Chicago, he lived in Peru for long periods and holds Peruvian citizenship, and locals still call him 'Padre Roberto'. Chiclayo, Peru's fourth largest city with 700,000 residents, is a commercial hub on the Pacific coast.

Opening his homily, Leo thanked the crowd and said he was glad to be back.

“What a joy it is to return to Chiclayo! It is a blessing for me to be with you once again.”

Crowd estimates differ

The Vatican estimated roughly 1.5 million people at the Mass, in a service held at temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius. Other accounts give different figures: the Irish Examiner reported a Vatican estimate of 500,000 people attending and 1.0 million along the motorcade route. Local authorities put about one million people along the streets. Firefighters sprayed the crowd with water to cool it, and Leo rode through the faithful in an open popemobile, blessing babies that families presented to him. The figures therefore run from 500,000 to 1.5 million, depending on the report.

Lima gathering, 11 November3,500,000

Chiclayo Mass, 13 November (Vatican estimate)1,500,000

Lima gathering, 11 November

3500000 people

Chiclayo Mass, 13 November (Vatican estimate)

1500000 people

Data from the article text

Health and the tour

Leo spoke about his health during the Mass, referring to the surgery he had for lung cancer. He thanked the faithful for their prayers in these words:

“Thank you for your affection, support and prayers, especially for my health during this time of trial which, with God's help, I am overcoming.”

The surgery took place in mid-October, and treating doctors have since said he is cancer-free. Peru is the longest stop on his first tour of Latin America, which has also taken in Uruguay and Argentina. An estimated 12 million people have turned out at stops across the 12-day trip, which was undertaken shortly after the operation. Leo is also a Peruvian citizen, and he described the country as his homeland in remarks delivered earlier in the week.

Lima and the final days

Peru is the last stop after Uruguay and Argentina, and Leo reached the country on Wednesday, 11 November. The largest gathering of the trip came in Lima that day, where an estimated 3.5 million people turned out. He flew from the capital to Chiclayo on 13 November, in a plane decorated with stickers reading 'Leo XIV flies home'. He will stay in Chiclayo until Sunday, 15 November, and is expected back in Rome on Tuesday, 17 November.

Homecoming in local life

In Chiclayo, the visit is treated as a homecoming. Banners read 'Welcome home', and golden lettering in the main square names the city 'City of Pope Leo XIV'. Lisbeth Díaz, a local teacher who worked with him when he was the city's bishop, said the Pope had come home and that Chiclayo was celebrating. Many of the people at the Mass said they had travelled from distant regions of Peru and from neighbouring countries to receive his blessing.