Leo XIV lands in Chiclayo: the Pope returns to his former diocese

Leo XIV is back in Chiclayo. The plane carrying the Pope touched down at 9:06 a.m. local time (3:06 p.m. Rome time) on Friday, 13 November, Vatican News reported, in the “querida Diocesis de Chiclayo en El Perú”. For Robert Francis Prevost this is no ordinary stop on the apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru: it is the city of the diocese he led as bishop from September 2015 to January 2023.

The arrival. Vatican Media footage shows the LATAM Airbus touching down on the runway and, at the edge of the runway, young people in “Abramos el corazón” T-shirts, the motto of the visit to Peru, waving flags. The flight had taken off at 7:57 a.m. local time (1:57 p.m. in Rome) from Callao Air Base in Lima.

The bond with Chiclayo. Prevost arrived in Chiclayo in November 2014 as apostolic administrator; on 26 September 2015 he became bishop of the diocese, which he left on 30 January 2023 when Pope Francis called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. In 2015 he also became a Peruvian citizen. On the evening of his election, 8 May 2025, he addressed a greeting in Spanish from the Loggia of St Peter’s to “mi querida diócesis de Chiclayo”.

The programme. The Pope will preside at Holy Mass at the nearby Pampas de Pimentel at 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 p.m. Rome time). Live updates are in the journey’s live blog.

Sources: Vatican News, Vatican Media, official programme of the journey (Holy See Press Office).

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