Pope Leo XIV returns to Peru to a big welcome, calls it his 'homeland'

An estimated 3 million people greeted Pope Leo XIV in Lima as the Peruvian-citizen pontiff began a six-day homecoming visit to the country where he spent two decades as a missionary and bishop. Pope Leo XIV opened the Peruvian leg of his South America tour on Wednesday, telling crowds in Lima that returning to the country where he served for two decades felt like coming home.

Leo holds Peruvian citizenship and spent more than two decades in Peru as a missionary priest and later as bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo before becoming pope. "Today I understand how much of this land remains with me and how much of my own story also belongs to you," he said, adding that he was "also returning to my homeland." Fujimori said Peru must face the “unfinished task” of reconciliation after decades of insurgent violence, state abuses and sharp political divisions.

Political science professor Alonso Cardenas told AP he sees "no sign of a reaction, no strategy" from Fujimori's government.