Pope welcomes over one million faithful in Chiclayo, Peru crowd

Under the blazing Pacific coast sun, Pope Leo returned to the place that still calls him “Padre” — and told a sea of faithful in northern Peru that he thanked God he was alive to stand before them.

The centrepiece of his 12-day South America tour unfolded in an arid field outside Chiclayo, a city 10,700km from Rome, where the former Robert Prevost — elected leader of the Catholic Church last year — remains, to many, simply an old friend: “Amigo.”

As he rode through the crowds in an open-air popemobile at the Pampas de Pimentel, a desert park west of Chiclayo, cheers rolled across the open ground. Pilgrims waved white-and-yellow Vatican flags and lifted umbrellas for shade against the intense sun.

Cries of “Pope Leo is here!” and “The pope is from Chiclayo!” rang out across the field.

In his homily, the 71-year-old called it a blessing to be back in what he described as his adopted home — exactly one month after undergoing lung cancer surgery. Many had feared the operation would force him to cancel, and he told the crowd it had been a “time of trial.”

He also offered thanks to Chiclayo for the affection and support that, he said, had sustained him.

“As I look at your ‌faces, a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord arises in my ⁠heart for the blessing you have been and continue to be in my life,” he said.

The Vatican estimated 1.5 million people filled the streets of Chiclayo and joined the Mass to welcome the pope.

People form long lines to attend the open-air mass in Chiclayo, Peru

Pope Leo, originally from Chicago, arrived in Peru for the emotional final stretch of a three-nation visit.

Over just more than a week on the continent, he has drawn an estimated 12 million people to public events.

On Wednesday, he said the country where he spent about 20 years as a missionary and later served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023 was his homeland.

He holds US and Peruvian citizenship.

Pope Leo XIV told the crowd he was “overcoming” the recent surgery, and he singled out those who had been praying for him.

“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,” Leo told the crowd.

The pope ‌underwent surgery for lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, on 13 October.

His doctors have said the cancer was localised and had not spread, and the pope will not require further treatment.

For many in Chiclayo, the welcome began long before the Mass itself. Some people spent the night camped in the field, ⁠while others set out early this morning.

With cars backed up for miles, many were forced to walk part of the way.

Karina Chinglay, 40, was among those on foot, travelling with ‌her mother and two children — all wearing matching Leo shirts.

“We knew it was going to be quite a large turnout, but we didn’t imagine ⁠the scale of it,” ‌she said.

Along the approach roads, vendors did brisk business selling hats, mini pope dolls and sweet Peruvian bread.

Leo arrived in Chiclayo from Lima this morning aboard a plane decorated with “#LeoXIVFliesHome” stickers.

He is due to remain in the area until Sunday for eight events, including a private dinner with the priests who once reported to him as bishop.

Crowd ’emotional’ seeing Pope Leo XIV

Chiclayo — Peru’s fourth-largest city — is home to about 620,000 people, with agriculture underpinning the local economy.

Among those who camped out overnight was Maria Esther Chozo Reyes, 76, who travelled 12 hours by bus from Lima and arrived yesterday afternoon.

“He knows the people of Chiclayo, and he’s lived here, he’s made his mission here,” she said.

“We ⁠really need his blessing.”

A hats vendor seen on the eve of Pope Leo visit in Chiclayo, Peru

Others said they began their journey days earlier from neighboring Ecuador.

For Luzmila Cornejo, 66, a Chiclayo resident who knew him when he was bishop, the moment carried particular weight.

“It’s his dear Chiclayo,” she said. “It’s emotional to see him.”

The turnout for Leo’s Peru visit has been the largest of his 18-month papacy. After his arrival from Argentina, about three million people gathered in Lima on Wednesday, according to estimates.

The pope also visited Uruguay on the tour.

Though the trip began 24 days after his surgery, Leo has looked strong during what has been described as one of the most demanding foreign itineraries arranged for a pope in decades.

In Peru, he has repeatedly leaned into the public moments: greeting crowds enthusiastically from an open-air popemobile, making unannounced appearances from the balcony of the Vatican embassy in Lima where he was ‌staying, and singing local songs at events.

Pope Leo’s tour to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru comes just weeks after he had surgery for lung cancer

Yesterday, he met six victims of clerical abuse in Peru, including some linked to the once powerful and now disbanded Catholic society Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

Pope Leo spent more than an hour with the victims, meeting “each person individually, listening to their stories of suffering and their pain” and “thanked them for their invaluable testimony”, the Vatican said.

Together, “they reflected on how to foster a shift in mindset – by listening to victims, seeking the truth, pursuing paths toward healing and committing to the creation of safe environments”, it said.

Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), a lay society founded in the 1970s that was widespread in Latin America, was shut down in 2025 by Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, after years of allegations of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, as well as corruption.

Before he was elected Pope Leo, Robert Francis Prevost was the bishop designated to hear from SCV victims, who said he was supportive of their claims.

In April 2026, the Vatican announced plans to set up a “listening channel” in Lima for victims and use assets seized from the lay movement to compensate them.

Renzo Orbegozo, a 50-year-old victim, said they were seeking “comprehensive reparation”.

“Many require psychological and medical support, as well as social reintegration – all of which, ultimately, translates into financial assistance,” he said.

Crowds attended a prayer vigil with Pope Leo at the National Stadium in Lima

On the eve of the pope’s South America tour, the US-based nonprofit Bishop Accountability presented a list in Lima of 77 members of the Peruvian clergy it said had been publicly accused of abusing minors.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the group, called on the pope to implement “zero tolerance” of abusers.