Vatican City – After taking part in the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, celebrated yesterday in St Peter’s Basilica, a delegation from the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference (CEP), led by its President, Monsignor Carlos García Camader, Bishop of Lurín, met with the Holy Father in the Apostolic Palace. At the heart of the meeting was an official invitation extended to the Pope to undertake a pastoral visit to Peru – a country he was once able to call “home”.
In the letter delivered to the Pontiff, Mons. García conveyed “the deep affection and closeness of the Peruvian people,” thanking Pope Leo XIV for “keeping a special place in his heart for Peru,” where he served for many years before being called to the See of Peter. “Your presence,” the letter reads, “will renew the hope of our people, strengthen the faith of our communities, and be a beautiful sign of communion with the universal Church.”
A bond rooted in mission
The relationship between Leo XIV and Peru is not merely institutional, but a story of life, vocation, and mission. In 1985, at just thirty years of age, the then Augustinian friar Robert Francis Prevost was sent to the Augustinian mission in Peru, where he first served as Chancellor of the Diocese of Chulucanas and Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral of the Holy Family. Returning several times to the South American nation, he held important roles in formation and leadership: community prior, seminary director in Trujillo, lecturer, parish priest, rector, and ecclesiastical judge.
For over a decade, he formed generations of religious, founded parishes, accompanied the faithful on the peripheries, and embodied the face of a living, close, and missionary Church.
His appointment as Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014, and later as Apostolic Administrator of Callao, further deepened an already strong bond. Not by chance, in 2015, he was formally granted Peruvian citizenship. Until his appointment as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he continued to serve in prominent roles within the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, including as Vice-President and Head of Culture and Education.
An embrace that looks to the future
During today’s meeting, the delegation — composed of numerous bishops from across the country — shared with the Pope the hopes and challenges facing the Church in Peru. Among those present were: Mons. Luis Alberto Barrera (Callao), Mons. Antonio Santarsiero (Huacho), Cardinal Pedro Barreto, Mons. Alfredo Vizcarra (Trujillo), Mons. Pedro Bustamante (Huánuco), Mons. Marco Antonio Cortez (Tacna and Moquegua), Mons. César Augusto Huerta (Sicuani), Mons. Ricardo García (Yauyos), Mons. Lizardo Estrada (Cusco, and Secretary General of CELAM), Mons. Raúl Chau (Arequipa), Mons. Juan Carlos Asqui (Tacna and Moquegua), and Father Guillermo Inca, Deputy Secretary General of the CEP.
The presence of these shepherds made tangible the desire to renew the bond between Rome and the Peruvian Church, at a historic moment when the Andean people — marked by economic crises, social tensions, and pastoral challenges — look with hope to the Pope who “knows the face of their communities.”
A possible visit of Pope Leo XIV to Peru would therefore not be a mere diplomatic gesture, but a return to his people — a witness of love and dedication that would likely leave an indelible mark on the ecclesial life of the country.
d.L.B.
Silere non possum