Pope Leo XIV will make a return visit to Peru in November, a country where he served as a missionary and bishop for nearly two decades. The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Leo will make a lengthy visit to Latin America November 6-17 and will be in Peru from November 11 until the end of his trip.

Pope’s Connection to Peru

As a young Augustinian friar, the future pope first went to Peru in 1985 as a missionary, spending formative years in Chulucanas and Trujillo, where he was involved in social action and taught future priests. His time there also exposed him to the ideas of liberation theology, a Christian approach that prioritizes the church’s concern for people who are poor and marginalized.

The first US-born pope later left the country and then, after 12 years based in Rome leading his religious order – the Augustinians – he returned to Peru to lead the diocese of Chiclayo, in the northwest of the country, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

Visit Itinerary

The itinerary of his November visit to Peru will see him travel to his former diocese of Chiclayo, along with visits to the capital Lima and Cusco and Pucallpa. The pope retains close links with Peru and remains a Peruvian citizen.

While a bishop in the country, he was known as a hands-on pastoral leader, who was chosen as vice-president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference and tried to tackle the scourge of sexual abuse in the church.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.