Pope Leo XIV was greeted by a record multitude of 3 million people in Lima as he returned to Peru on Wednesday marking the emotional final leg of his South American tour.
Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, the pontiff arrived at Callao Air Base after a four-hour flight from Buenos Aires, OSV News reported. President Keiko Fujimori welcomed him at the foot of the stairs while children presented him with flowers and a local choir sang Latin hymns. Foreign Minister Carlos Espá was also among the high-ranking officials receiving him at the airport.
The pope declared the country his homeland during his first public address at Lima’s Grand National Theater, speaking to authorities and members of the diplomatic corps about his decades of service in South America. During the formal welcome ceremony in the palace courtyard, he sang the Peruvian national anthem alongside President Fujimori and a children’s choir.
“That is why I can tell you, with deep gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland,” said Pope Leo XIV, according to WNYT.
The Vatican estimated that some 3 million people lined the miles-long motorcade route into town, waving Peruvian and Holy See flags, while some in the roaring crowds broke through tight security to chase the car transporting him to the presidential palace.
Prevost first arrived in Peru as an Augustinian missionary in 1985.
Locals remember his hands-on presence during national crises, including distributing food during the COVID-19 pandemic, wading through water and mud in rubber boots during the coastal El Niño floods in 2017, and leading aid appeals for more than 10,000 people affected by flooding caused by Cyclone Yaku in the north of the country in 2023.
Before leaving for Rome in 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontical Commission for Latin America.
When he was later elected at St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, 2025, as Pope Leo XIV, one of his first acts was to address the crowd in Spanish, greeting his “amada diócesis de Chiclayo, en el Perú.”
“We love him so much because he’s worked here, he knows our sufferings, he knows it all,” said Evelina Cruz, CBS News reported.
Festivities stretched from Lima to Chiclayo, where streets were draped in Vatican flags and colorful murals of the pope. Next door, Las Américas served as another spot where waiter Oscar Ramirez Flores remembered serving him northern Peruvian staples like braised goat, known locally as cabrito.
The pope will honor Peru’s Indigenous peoples by traveling to Pucallpa, in Peru’s Amazon, to celebrate Mass.
Earlier coverage: Pope Leo XIV Returns to Peru for Emotional Homecoming Visit
