Three million welcome Pope Leo in Peru, his 'second homeland'
Pope Leo XIV was welcomed by millions of people on his arrival in Peru, his 'second homeland'. Peru is the final leg of his three-nation Latin American tour, undertaken just weeks after surgery for lung cancer.
A Vatican statement said three million people greeted the pontiff in Lima, setting another record for the biggest crowd of his papacy.
Earlier this week, an estimated 2.5 million people attended an outdoor Mass in Buenos Aires.
On Wednesday local time, people waving flags and wearing pope-themed shirts filled the main plaza in Lima and erupted into loud cheers as a big screen showed the plane touching down. Some held signs that read 'Welcome home'.
The 71-year-old pope travelled to Uruguay and Argentina before heading to Peru.
The pope was born in Chicago in the United States, but he served in Peru as a missionary priest and bishop for two decades and obtained citizenship there, before being chosen to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
At Lima's Gran Teatro Nacional he said his return to Peru held 'a very special meaning'. He said: 'Today, I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you. I can tell you, with deep gratitude, that I am returning to my homeland.'
Peru prepared for the homecoming by erecting a 14-metre (46ft) statue of Pope Leo with outstretched arms, towering over a seaside park in Callao. Merchants in Lima are selling pope-themed shirts and souvenirs.
The pontiff is scheduled to spend three days in the northern city of Chiclayo, where he was bishop from 2015 to 2023.
In a closely watched speech to President Keiko Fujimori, Pope Leo urged her to build confidence among her people after her narrow election victory earlier this year.
Alluding to the contested legacy of Fujimori's father, Alberto Fujimori, he invited the president to confront the wounds of the country's turbulent past. Alberto Fujimori led Peru through the turbulent 1990s and a brutal war against Maoist Shining Path rebels.
The pope said: 'Past events deserve to be treated with justice and sensitivity, leaving room for harmony to grow and for differences to be addressed with respect.' He also called on Peruvians to cultivate 'honesty, integrity, and a willingness to engage with others', saying those qualities were essential to sustaining trust and democratic institutions.
In welcoming the pope, Fujimori said his visit was an invitation for Peru to pursue its 'unfinished task' of national reconciliation.
When Alberto Fujimori was pardoned in 2017, Leo — then Bishop Robert Prevost — criticised the move, saying the former president should personally seek forgiveness from victims if Peru were to achieve genuine reconciliation.
Pope Leo began the trip less than a month after lung cancer surgery and has appeared in good form, making long speeches in a firm, clear voice.
