Pope Leo makes emotional return to his ‘beloved diocese of Chiclayo’

Pope Leo XIV arrives in Pampas de Pimentel, Peru, on Friday.Silvia Izquierdo / APShareAdd NBC News to GoogleNov. 13, 2026, 9:29 AM ESTBy Claudio Lavanga and Corky SiemaszkoLIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV made a triumphant return Friday to the Peruvian city of Chiclayo, where he served as bishop for eight years and was affectionately nicknamed “Padre Roberto.”

Leo arrived in a plane decorated with “#LeoXFliesHome” stickers and he was greeted with a sign at the airport bearing the same message. A small dance troupe performed before him as he stepped off the plane.

He will stay in the area until Sunday to lead eight events, including a private dinner with the priests who once reported to him as bishop.

The crowds greeting Leo in Peru’s fourth largest city will likely be smaller than the estimated 3 million or so who welcomed the pope when he arrived Wednesday in Lima, the country’s capital.

People wait Pope Leo XIV for a Mass at an open space near the Pampas de Pimentel, Peru.Andrew Medichini / APBut their enthusiasm more than made up for their smaller numbers as the former Bishop Robert Prevost of Chiclayo returned to this coastal city of nearly 700,000 as the leader of the Catholic Church.

As toured in an open-air popemobile at the Pampas de Pimentel, a vast desert plain just outside Chiclayo, the crowd erupted in cheers, many waving waved white-and-yellow Vatican flags.

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Maria Esther Chozo Reyes, 76, said she had taken a 12-hour bus ride from Lima and arrived Thursday afternoon before she camped overnight. “He knows the people of Chiclayo and he’s lived here, he’s made his mission here,” she told The Associated Press. “We really need his blessing.”

Thanking the people for their love and support, in his sermon Leo said it was a blessing to be in his former home.

Firefighters spray water to cool off the crowd in Pampas de Pimentel.Silvia Izquierdo / APdo“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, adding that his lung cancer disgnosis and surgery to remove part of one lung exactly a month ago had been a time of trial.

Leo’s sojourn to Chiclayo is midway through the final leg of his 12-day visit to South America, a historic trip that included stops in Argentina and Uruguay. And it’s the most sentimental part of his journey.

For while Leo was born in Chicago and English is his mother tongue, the first words he uttered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica was a shoutout in Spanish to his “beloved Diocese of Chiclayo.”

Scenes across Lima during the pope's visit to Peru, on Wednesday.AP; GettyDuring his time in that city, Leo often repeated a joke: “Chicago, Chiclayo, what difference is there? Only one letter.”

Setting aside the fact that it’s actually two letters, Leo quickly became a beloved figure in Chiclayo by championing social justice issues, embracing the poor and venturing into the local prison to say Mass.

During the pandemic, Leo endeared himself to many by launching a fundraising drive to raise money for a badly-needed oxygen production plant.

When Cyclone Maku hit the area in March 2023, Leo was photographed wading through the floodwaters to get supplies to the destitute and distributing food at soup kitchens.

Thousands turned out to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.Rodrigo Abd / APAt Christmastime, Leo would drive a pickup truck laden with gifts into remote villages around Chiclayo and join family celebrations.

Leo spent two decades as a missionary, priest and finally as a bishop in Peru and became a citizen in 2015. During his two decades in the country, he was also a strident critic of then- Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori’s authoritarian regime.

On Thursday, Leo delivered a speech while sitting beside Fujimori’s daughter, recently-elected Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, at Lima’s Gran Teatro Nacional performing arts center.

President Keiko Fujimori welcomes Leo at the presidential palace in Lima, on Wednesday.Silvia Izquierdo / APLeo urged the country’s leaders to cultivate honesty and integrity to strengthen public trust --- and called on officeholders to listen to their constituents.

“Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you,” Leo said.

There was thunderous applause when Leo referred to Peru as “my homeland.”

And Leo appeared to have tears in his eyes as he sang the Peruvian national anthem along with a children’s choir.

Claudio Lavanga reported from Lima and Corky Siemaszko from New York.

Claudio LavangaClaudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Corky SiemaszkoCorky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.