LIMA (The Thursday Times) — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday, returning as pontiff to the country where he spent two decades as a missionary and bishop, after a visit to Argentina that ended with President Javier Milei in tears at the airport.
Milei was visibly moved as he said goodbye to the pope at Ezeiza airport outside Buenos Aires. The visit was the first by a pope to Argentina in 39 years and closed with a final Mass at the Basilica of Luján, the country’s best-known shrine.
The visit also highlighted tensions with Milei’s government over its austerity cuts to social programmes. Before leaving, Leo urged Argentines to look after the most vulnerable.
‘One of my many homes’
The papal plane landed at the Callao air base in Lima at about 5pm local time, where President Keiko Fujimori, who took office in July, welcomed him at the foot of the stairs. The Holy See estimated that 3 million people lined Lima’s streets for his motorcade.
Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, first went to Peru as a missionary priest in 1985 and later led the diocese of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.
“This return visit holds a very special meaning for me,” he told political leaders in his first speech in Peru. “That is why I can tell you, with deep gratitude, that I am also returning to my homeland.”
Peru is the last leg of a 12-day South American journey that began in Uruguay on November 6 and ends on November 17. He is also expected in Chiclayo, his former diocese, where banners with his image line the streets.
