Pastoral visit to South America (Uruguay, Argentina, Peru) scheduled for Nov. 6–16; preparations in full swing in Lima, including the creation of a large statue of the Pope.
Peruvian sculptors Rafael Gutiérrez (left) and Guillermo Chávez Valentín work on a large statue of Pope Leo XIV at a workshop in Lima, Peru, on September 28. The statue is being created ahead of the Pope's visit to Peru this coming November. The Pope will make pastoral visits to Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay in November. The tour marks his first pastoral visit to South America since his accession and his longest overseas pastoral visit to date.
Expectations are running high within the local church and society, particularly as he returns to Peru, where he served for a long time as a missionary and bishop.
Preparations to welcome the Pope are already well underway in Peru. At a workshop in the capital, Lima, sculptors Rafael Gutiérrez and Guillermo Chávez Valentín are creating a massive statue of the Pope, standing approximately 14 meters tall. Eight workers are involved in the project, which was designed using artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D modeling technology. Once completed, the statue will be installed in a park in Callao—a city with which the Pope shares a special connection—and unveiled before his arrival.
The Pope will embark on a pastoral visit to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from November 6 to 16, returning to Rome on the 17th. It marks his first visit to South America during his papacy and his longest overseas pastoral trip to date. He will visit Uruguay from the 6th to the 8th and Argentina from the 8th to the 11th, then arrive in Peru on the 11th and stay until the 16th.
Among the three nations, Peru holds a particularly special significance for the Pope. Originally from Chicago, USA, he first began missionary work in Peru in 1985 while serving as Father Robert Prevost. He subsequently served as a missionary in the country on multiple occasions, dedicating himself to parish ministry and the formation of seminarians. In 2014, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, and he served as the Bishop of Chiclayo from the following year until 2023. He also obtained Peruvian citizenship in 2015.
From 2020 to 2021, he served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Callao. Callao, the site where the large statue is being erected, is another location deeply connected to the Pope's pastoral journey. This special connection is also evident in the itinerary for the visit to Peru. The Pope will visit the capital, Lima, as well as Chiclayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa. Notably, on the 13th and 14th, he will stay in Chiclayo—where he served as the head of the diocese for eight years—to celebrate Mass with the faithful and meet with clergy, religious, and seminarians. He also plans to visit the Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University to meet with the university community.
The Pope will then visit Cusco in the Andes region and Pucallpa in the Amazon region. In Cusco, he will meet with the faithful and groups dedicated to popular piety, while in Pucallpa, he will meet with missionaries and representatives of Amazonian indigenous peoples. The itinerary covers not only the capital, Lima, but also the coastal city of Chiclayo, the Andes, and the Amazon. On the 16th, after celebrating Mass in Lima, the Pope will attend a farewell ceremony at Callao Air Force Base before departing for Rome.
This visit holds special significance for the Pope. Although born in the United States, he spent many years serving the Church in Peru as a missionary and bishop; now, he returns to the land where he once ministered, this time as the shepherd of the universal Church. With the visit just over a month away, preparations to welcome back their former shepherd are intensifying across Peru.
