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CNN
12-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Pope! Amigo! Peruvians remember the young American priest who became pope
Chiclayo's main plaza was raucous with the sounds of hammering and music, people milling in anticipation as the scaffolding went up for vast digital screens in front of the city cathedral. Saturday's open-air mass would be a very special one: a celebration marking the ascendency of Pope Leo XIV, the world's first American pope – but better known here as Robert, the world's first Chiclayano pope. Through the cathedral's open doors, a line of women formed in front of the confessional in preparation for the big evening. A children's chorus performed on the steps, competing with the thumping bass of secular life down the street, where two men in short shorts were leading a dance class. Banners draped around the square showed Leo's smiling face, 10 feet high. Signs outside a local restaurant touted its goat stew as his favorite lunch order, back when he lived here. Inside the cathedral, Amalia Cruzado, 52, silently sobbed in the pews, her arms outstretched. 'It's a day of miracles. Chiclayo is so blessed,' she said. After praying, she would head home and pick up the rest of her family to attend the evening mass; her elderly father, suffering from cancer, desperately needed a miracle for his health. Pope Leo was born in the United States as Robert Prevost, but for his adopted nation of Peru – where he acquired citizenship in 2015 – he is a Chiclayano, a son of the bustling northern Peruvian city where he served as bishop for years, after working as a priest in the countryside. Here, everyone has a story about him. Back in the 1980s, Nicanor Palacios was an altar boy with Leo during his early priesthood in nearby Piura, and traveled the area with him for services. 'Being the junior priest, he was often sent out in the field,' recalled Palacios, now an airforce technician. 'He would take us out in the parish's jeep to have lunch.' 'It wasn't hard for him to fit in. There was a small village back then, called Kilometer 50, on the Pan-American Highway. He'd take us there for dry meat and fried plantains. He liked that type of stuff and liked to go to the country. He'd eat just like a northern Peru farmer: yucca, fried fish, maybe a bite of fried meat.' 'What I liked most was his advice, because many young people, even back then, they would get lost, but he was just a young man, 24 or 25 years old, very serious and full of advice,' said Palacios, whose mother died when he was young and for whom Leo and the other altar boys become a second family, he says. Many years later, as a bishop in Chiclayo, Leo's accent was still 'very American,' according to local priest Emerson Lizana, 30, but his presence felt deeply familiar in this northern Peruvian outpost. 'The way he treated people, his presence enveloped you in a sense of trust. He had a Latin American heart,' Lizana said, describing how the then-bishop became part of the daily life of Chiclayo, visiting the city's poorest neighborhoods and carrying a cross through deserted streets during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chiclayo is a city famous for the fervor of its faithful, even in deeply Catholic Peru. According to a 2017 census, Peru's population is 90% Christian and 76% Catholic – more than Italy and far more than in Leo's native United States, where Catholics are under 20%. Leo, widely considered a progressive pope and ideological successor to Pope Francis, worked closely with the neediest in Chiclayo, coordinating local NGOs, churches and religious groups in the late 2010s to assist a flood of Venezuelans fleeing political chaos and economic collapse in their home country. But his tenure has not been without criticism – three women allegedly abused by a local priest released a letter in September last year accusing Leo of failing to fully investigate their claims while he was bishop. The new pope has also been called upon by Catholics for Choice to change his views on abortion; an X account under Prevost's name previously shared articles critical of reproductive rights and 'gender ideology.' Liz Medrano, from the region's Moshikas Diversas LGBTQI+ advocacy group, told CNN that she feared Leo's appointment could fuel religious conservatism in the country. 'We are very worried. As you may have noticed, there is a lot of emotion in the province and in the region about the appointment of the Pope who was from Chiclayo. Ultra-conservativism, fundamentalism, new movements can emerge from evangelical and Catholic roots,' she said. 'Above all it is the Church that has maintained this idea of being against abortions, that abortion is also a sin, that it is murder. And this continues to be referred to and repeated by the Peruvian authorities.' Abortion access is heavily restricted in Peru; in 2023, the United Nations accused Peru's government of violating the rights of a 13-year-old girl who was refused an abortion following years of rape by her father, and then imprisoned by local authorities after she miscarried. Still, for a pope, Leo's social progressivism in other areas is seen locally as an overall 'good direction' by some rights advocates. 'We don't expect that suddenly the Pope goes out and defends the rights of women, but perhaps he will take a position that is a bit more human, and less stigmatizing of women who interrupt their pregnancies,' said Rossina Vasquez, director of a women's rights group in Peru. An interest in seeking truth and justice is part of the worldview of Augustinian priests like Leo, according to Friar Pipé, teacher at an Augustinian-run school in the outskirts of Chiclayo. 'For us Augustinians, God is the truth, and for us searching for the truth is searching for God,' said Pipé. 'What I hope is that Leo can be a pope who becomes a sign of unity for the church: we can always do better, through dialogue and understanding, both inside our Church and with other religions,' he added. Pipé, 30, was personally ordained by Leo in 2023 and blessed him in return per tradition; a blessing that he now jokes may have played some role in Leo's chances during the Vatican's conclave to select a new pope last week. He remembers watching a broadcast of the process on YouTube as it played out in Rome, his fellow Augustinians erupting in whoops of joy and triumph when Leo's name was called out. With a Chiclayano pope, now anything is possible, Pipé joked. 'Let's see,' he laughed. 'When Benedict was the Pope, Germany won the World Cup. Then Francis was the Pope, and Argentina won… now, Robert is Pope, either Peru or the USA are going to win the World Cup.' But for believers like Amalia Cruzado, who have little but their faith, the sense that this is a particularly blessed time for Chiclayo is no laughing matter. In her modest neighborhood, where Cruzado says children often go hungry or cannot afford shoes, dust rose on Saturday evening as a taxi bumped down the unpaved street, the decal on its rear window reading 'La Bendición de Dios.' It was finally time for the evening mass. Her family of eight piled in – freshly dressed and coiffed, from her 9-month-old grandson to her 79-year-old father – for a hair-rising ride through traffic back to the darkening square. Street lights flickered on as they arrived, police still hard at work cordoning off the cathedral's steps for the night's rituals. Cruzado hoisted her grandson in one arm and shepherded her father toward the front, past crowds taking selfies in front of the Pope's illuminated likeness. Soon prayers would begin, followed by a familiar order: readings from the Bible, the homily by Chiclayo's new bishop, communion. 'Papa! Amigo! El pueblo esta contigo!' congregants chanted in the crowd, blasting airhorns and lifting their children in the air as if it were a home team game. 'Pope! Friend! The people are with you! 'Let me tell you, the Pope has two hearts: one is for where he was born, but the other one is for here, for us, the humble people of Chiclayo,' Cruzado said. 'He is our Pope.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Peruvians know him as the priest who went 'from Chicago to Chiclayo.' He is now Pope Leo XIV
CHICLAYO, Peru (AP) — The people of northern Peru call him el obispo. Sometimes he is also Padre Prevost. Maybe when the shock wears off, they will get used to his new title, Pope Leo XIV. Waiters, taxi drivers, teachers and others — faithful or otherwise — saw the Rev. Robert Prevost around their communities for 20 years, eating ceviche, singing Christmas songs and partaking in everyday activities. But he also walked through flooded streets to reach the needy and drove to remote villages to hand out blankets. Many sat a few feet away from him while he delivered succinct sermons. They can all now say they know the pope. 'He's a very simple man,' said Alejandro Bazalar, whose feet Leo washed during a Holy Week ceremony in the city of Chiclayo, where Leo lived for nine years. 'We Chiclayanos never imagined that God's representative on Earth would live among us.' Chiclayo, with more than 800,000 people, plays a vital role as the main commercial hub of Peru's northern Pacific coast, with highways linking it to the Andes mountains and Amazon region. The two-story homes near its main square are painted in shades of cream or white and the narrow streets are jammed at midday. Low-income neighborhoods rise a few miles away. Leo, 69 and born in the United States, arrived in the city in 2014, serving as administrator and then bishop until his predecessor, Pope Francis, summoned him to Rome in 2023. After he was introduced to the world as Leo XIV, he introduced Chiclayo to the world. 'Greetings ... to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,' he said Thursday in Spanish, standing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his first speech as the leader of the Catholic church. Ricardo Ulloque on Friday remembered Leo singing into a microphone 'I wanna wish you a merry Christmas' – the verse in José Feliciano's bilingual song 'Feliz Navidad' – accompanied by a small band during a youth gathering in 2017. Waiter Alonso Alarcón recalled the time Leo visited a restaurant and ate ceviche, Peru's staple dish of lemon-marinated fish. And cab driver Hugo Pérez said he saw the pope several times driving around Chiclayo, 9 miles (14 kilometers) from the coast. The Rev. Jorge Millán, a priest who lived with Leo and other brothers in Chiclayo, said the new pope had a 'mathematical mindset, he was orderly and punctual.' He washed his own dishes, he said, and liked to fix cars, searching YouTube for solutions when he was stumped. The front pages of Friday's newspapers in Peru showed the newly elected pope. In the capital, Lima, street vendors were already selling T-shirts with photos and memes of Leo, including one that read 'the pope is Peruvian.' Leo's time in Chiclayo was the third period he lived in Peru. Ordained in 1982, he was sent to work in a mission in the northern part of the country, near the border with Ecuador, between 1985 and 1986. He returned in 1988 and remained in the region until he returned to the U.S. in 1999. The Chicago native became a Peruvian citizen in 2015. He would often tell Peruvians that he had 'come from Chicago to Chiclayo; the only difference is a few letters.' Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Thursday said Leo's election was a 'historic moment' for Peru and the U.S. 'He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture, and dreams of this nation,' she said in a video message in which she also recalled that Leo chose to become a Peruvian citizen 'as an expression of his profound love for Peru.' Once or twice a month, Millán said, Prevost played tennis at the Jockey Club in Chiclayo, and when Peru qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he cheered on his adopted country's victory from a couch with other priests. In the city of Chulucanas, about 270 kilometers north of Chiclayo, Mildred Camacho, 28, remembers Leo in a more personal way — he is her godfather, she said. When he left for Rome, Camacho said, the two kept in touch, and he even sent her a photo showing him working with then-Pope Francis. 'When I saw he was elected," she said, "I ran to my father shouting, 'Daddy, my godfather has become the pope!'' ___ Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Peruvians know him as the priest who went ‘from Chicago to Chiclayo.' He is now Pope Leo XIV
CHICLAYO, Peru (AP) — The people of northern Peru call him el obispo. Sometimes he is also Padre Prevost. Maybe when the shock wears off, they will get used to his new title, Pope Leo XIV. Waiters, taxi drivers, teachers and others — faithful or otherwise — saw the Rev. Robert Prevost around their communities for 20 years, eating ceviche, singing Christmas songs and partaking in everyday activities. But he also walked through flooded streets to reach the needy and drove to remote villages to hand out blankets. Many sat a few feet away from him while he delivered succinct sermons. They can all now say they know the pope. 'He's a very simple man,' said Alejandro Bazalar, whose feet Leo washed during a Holy Week ceremony in the city of Chiclayo, where Leo lived for nine years. 'We Chiclayanos never imagined that God's representative on Earth would live among us.' Chiclayo, with more than 800,000 people, plays a vital role as the main commercial hub of Peru's northern Pacific coast, with highways linking it to the Andes mountains and Amazon region. The two-story homes near its main square are painted in shades of cream or white and the narrow streets are jammed at midday. Low-income neighborhoods rise a few miles away. Leo, 69 and born in the United States, arrived in the city in 2014, serving as administrator and then bishop until his predecessor, Pope Francis, summoned him to Rome in 2023. After he was introduced to the world as Leo XIV, he introduced Chiclayo to the world. 'Greetings … to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,' he said Thursday in Spanish, standing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his first speech as the leader of the Catholic church. Ricardo Ulloque on Friday remembered Leo singing into a microphone 'I wanna wish you a merry Christmas' – the verse in José Feliciano's bilingual song 'Feliz Navidad' – accompanied by a small band during a youth gathering in 2017. Waiter Alonso Alarcón recalled the time Leo visited a restaurant and ate ceviche, Peru's staple dish of lemon-marinated fish. And cab driver Hugo Pérez said he saw the pope several times driving around Chiclayo, 9 miles (14 kilometers) from the coast. The Rev. Jorge Millán, a priest who lived with Leo and other brothers in Chiclayo, said the new pope had a 'mathematical mindset, he was orderly and punctual.' He washed his own dishes, he said, and liked to fix cars, searching YouTube for solutions when he was stumped. The front pages of Friday's newspapers in Peru showed the newly elected pope. In the capital, Lima, street vendors were already selling T-shirts with photos and memes of Leo, including one that read 'the pope is Peruvian.' Leo's time in Chiclayo was the third period he lived in Peru. Ordained in 1982, he was sent to work in a mission in the northern part of the country, near the border with Ecuador, between 1985 and 1986. He returned in 1988 and remained in the region until he returned to the U.S. in 1999. The Chicago native became a Peruvian citizen in 2015. He would often tell Peruvians that he had 'come from Chicago to Chiclayo; the only difference is a few letters.' Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Thursday said Leo's election was a 'historic moment' for Peru and the U.S. 'He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture, and dreams of this nation,' she said in a video message in which she also recalled that Leo chose to become a Peruvian citizen 'as an expression of his profound love for Peru.' Once or twice a month, Millán said, Prevost played tennis at the Jockey Club in Chiclayo, and when Peru qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he cheered on his adopted country's victory from a couch with other priests. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. In the city of Chulucanas, about 270 kilometers north of Chiclayo, Mildred Camacho, 28, remembers Leo in a more personal way — he is her godfather, she said. When he left for Rome, Camacho said, the two kept in touch, and he even sent her a photo showing him working with then-Pope Francis. 'When I saw he was elected,' she said, 'I ran to my father shouting, 'Daddy, my godfather has become the pope!'' ___ Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
