Pope thanks crowds on emotional return to ‘second dwelling’ in Peru’s Chiclayo | Human Rights Information

The Chicago-born pope was welcomed by large crowds within the coastal metropolis, on the ultimate leg of his South America tour.

Pope Leo has made an emotional return to his former diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, the place giant crowds welcomed their former bishop precisely one month after he had lung most cancers surgical procedure, and he thanked them for his or her help throughout his restoration.

“As I take a look at your faces, a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord arises in my coronary heart for the blessing you may have been and proceed to be in my life,” he mentioned.

About 500,000 folks gathered for Mass at Pampas de Pimentel, a desert park simply exterior of Peru’s fourth-largest metropolis, in response to estimates from the Vatican, whereas one other million lined his motorcade route.

Earlier than he was elected pope, Leo had spent about 20 years working in Peru as a missionary priest and served as bishop of Chiclayo, the place he’s nonetheless generally known as “Padre Roberto” and the place his picture is ubiquitous, from 2015 to 2023.

In Chiclayo, a coastal metropolis of about 620,000, Leo earned a status for staying near poor communities throughout occasions of disaster, together with when the area was hit with devastating floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some had camped in a single day to see him, whereas others walked within the sizzling solar to keep away from bumper-to-bumper site visitors to get to the open-air Mass.

As he rode in his popemobile, folks within the crowd waved yellow and white Vatican flags and shouted, “The pope is from Chiclayo.”

“What a pleasure it’s to return to Chiclayo,” mentioned Leo at first of his homily.

Initially from Chicago and previously generally known as Robert Francis Prevost, Leo additionally holds Peruvian citizenship and declared the nation his homeland on Wednesday.

Peru is the ultimate cease of his 12-day, three-country South America tour, coming after visits to Argentina and Uruguay. Roughly 12 million folks have come to see him at public occasions thus far.

Final month, he underwent surgical procedure for lung most cancers, amid fears that the journey must be cancelled. However medical doctors have mentioned the most cancers was localised, had not unfold, and would not require additional remedy.

Leo will keep within the Chiclayo space till Sunday, main eight occasions, together with a non-public dinner with the monks he oversaw throughout his time as bishop.