“Thank you, Chiclayo”. With these words, the new Pope Leo XIV honored from the Vatican To the Peruvian city that marked its pastoral path. Although he was born in Chicago in 1955, Robert Prevost forged his vocation on the north coast of the Peruwhere he lived and worked for almost 40 years as a missionary, pastor and bishop.
The choice of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Martínez as the successor of Francisco, this May 8, not only marks a milestone for being the First Pope with American and Peruvian nationality. It also claims to a city that, until now, did not appear in the great headlines: Chiclayo. Known as “The capital of friendship” Because of the warmth of his people, he was the spiritual home of Leo XIV For more than a decade and its greatest link with Latin America.
A vocation forged in the Peruvian north
Prevost He arrived in Peru in 1985 As a young Missionary Agustino. Since then, his life was deeply linked to the Andean country. Lived there for almost four decades and Peruvian was nationalized in 2015. But it was Chiclayo (located 750 km from Lima) the city where it most deeply took root. In 2014Pope Francis appointed him holder of Suffer and apostolic administrator of the local diocese. Since then, he led the Catholic community of the region Until 2023, when he was called to the Vatican.
GQCK9ESW0AEM7CV (1) .jpeg
During his passage through Peru, he also worked in Trujillowhere he formed seminarians, and in the prelature of Chulucanasoccupying multiple ecclesiastical positions. However, it was Chiclayo The place that defined his vocation: there was pastor, judicial vicar and, above all, spiritual guide. It is not surprising that, in his first public appearance as a pontiff, he has sent a special greeting: “My dear Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied his bishop, has shared his faith and has given so much to continue being a faithful church of Jesus Christ.”
A city with ancient history
Chiclayothird most populated city in Peru after Lima and Trujillo, is also a cultural epicenter. In its territory cultures flourished Lambayeque and Mochicawhose archaeological vestiges such as the real tombs of Sipán and the pyramids of Túcume, today are great tourist attractions. The name of the city would come from Mochica, in reference to a pumpkin used in ancestral cuisine.
Befunky-Collage (3) .jpg
Despite his rich story, Chiclayo International foci do not usually occupy. The choice of the new Pope puts this coastal city in the global agendaand with that, he aroused interest in his cultural, spiritual and economic legacy. Its economy is based on the agricultureespecially in the Rice and sugar cane cultivationbut also in commerce, transport and communications.
Growth tourism and investments in progress
Since the beginning of 2025, the tourism In the Lambayeque region (where Chiclayo is located) he showed signs of recovery. Between January and March they arrived 1,348 international touristsof which 653 entered through the local airport. In 2024, the region received more than 24,000 foreign visitors25.5% more than the previous year, although still below the prepaandemics levels.
The choice of Leo XIV coincides with the relaunching of important tourist projects in the area. In March, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru announced an investment of 78.9 million of Peruvian soles in Lambayeque. The funds will be allocated to the improvement of the Real Tombs of Sipán and the restoration of Santa María Conventwithin the framework of the second roadshow of investment in tourism.
In addition, the Modernization of Chiclayo airport to make it a Air Hub from the north of the country. With the new Pope pointing to the city as an essential part of his spiritual biography, these initiatives acquire a new impulse.
Leo XIV: A Pope with Peruvian Heart
Leo XIVthe first Augustinian Pope in History and former prefect of Dicastery for Bishops, is not just a symbol of integration between cultures. It is also a living example of Vocation and pastoral commitment in many times marginalized. In his own words, “the message is always the same: Proclaim to Jesus Christ, proclaim the Gospel, but the way to reach today’s people, young people, politicians, is different. ”
Papa Leon 14.png
To mention a Chiclayo In his first speech as Pope, he gave a clear message: the peripheries take place in the center. The people who welcomed him when he was barely a priest becomes, now, a world reference. Chiclayo is not just “The capital of friendship”, It is also, symbolically, The city that inspired the new leader of the Catholic Church.
Source: Ambito
