MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Leo XIV arrives in Peru, his “homeland”, defending international law and reconciliation

Leo XIV will remain in Peru until Monday, November 16. On Friday he will celebrate Mass in Pimentel, near Chiclayo, the diocese he led from 2015 to 2023

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lima on Wednesday, the final stage of his South American tour, and in his first speech in Peru, the country where he lived for some twenty years and whose nationality he holds, called for diplomacy that “respects international law” in the face of wars and for the country’s past events “to be dealt with justice and sensitivity”.

President Keiko Fujimori received him at the foot of the plane, and thousands of people greeted him along the route from the airport. After meeting him at the Government Palace, the Pope addressed the authorities. “Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own history also belongs to you,” he said, referring to a country he regards as his homeland.

In the first international reference of his tour, Leo XIV said, without naming any country, that “the wars and tensions afflicting so many peoples demand patient diplomacy that keeps dialogue open, respects international law and seeks agreements that protect the life and dignity of people”. “Every nation has legitimate aspirations, but none can consider the fate of others alien to it,” he added, encouraging Peru to keep contributing to regional and international cooperation.

The Pope also referred to the country’s recent past. “Peru too has gone through difficult moments that have tested coexistence among its people. The events of the past deserve to be dealt with justice and sensitivity, leaving room for harmony to grow,” he said, adding that “democratic life means recognising that no one can be treated as a problem, but as a person with dignity”. Fujimori, who spoke before him, said “Peru needs to reconcile” and that “no country can live as a prisoner of its wounds”.

The Pope spoke alongside the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, the former president convicted of human rights violations, pardoned in 2017 and who died in 2024. According to El País, in 2017 the then Bishop of Chiclayo Robert Prevost criticised the former leader for apologising only in a “generic” way. On the eve of the visit, victims of state violence during the armed conflict of the 1980s and 1990s and of the crackdown on the 2022 and 2023 protests, in which at least some fifty people died, sent a letter alleging that “some people, from within the Church” are preventing their stories from reaching the pontiff. Former President Dina Boluarte, under whose government those deaths occurred, attended the speech.

Leo XIV will remain in Peru until Monday, November 16. On Friday he will celebrate Mass in Pimentel, near Chiclayo, the diocese he led from 2015 to 2023, where nearly a million faithful are expected; on Saturday he will visit Cajamarca and Zaña, and on Sunday, Cusco and Pucallpa, before returning to Rome.