"Chiclayo, blessed!": joy in the former diocese of León XIV in Peru

Chiclayo (Peru)When on Thursday the cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica As the 267th pope, Chiclayo, in northern Peru, exploded with joy and disbelief. This city, the fifth largest in the country with just under 800,000 inhabitants, was little known until last week, when many people had never even heard of it. For days now, the only thing talked about in Chiclayo is this.

Joy and excitement have filled the hearts of the calm, friendly, and very Catholic people: "We are very religious," says Antonio Gutiérrez in the ARA, leaving the Cathedral of Santa María, hand in hand with his mother. "When the bells started ringing on Thursday and we learned that the one chosen as the new pope was Monsignor Robert, we were very happy," he recounts. The woman, who is nearly ninety years old, smiles: "He is very good, very humble. We love him very much here." Aside from being humble, others Chiclayanos They describe the new pope as "simple", "close", "discreet", "solidary" and "generous". In Peru, he is considered a "Peruvian pope.", since, apart from developing almost all his pastoral and ecclesiastical life in the Andean country, in 2015 he decided to become a naturalized citizen, when Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo.

This Saturday, the Plaza de Armas –in the center of the city, where the cathedral is located– is cordoned off and no cars are circulating. A local gastronomy fair occupies part of an adjacent promenade, and large banners with the face of Leo XIV and the phrase "Blessed Chiclayo!" There is a festive, exceptional atmosphere, and at dusk, the current bishop, Edinson Farfán, will officiate a mass in honor of the "pope Chiclayano".

Until then, life is on the streets, among the faithful, religious people and curious people who have come to find out who Prevost was before he was Leo XIV. Miguel Ángel Falla is a lawyer and had collaborated with an organization led by Prevost, Human Dignity, to support migrants upon arrival and migrants." migrant, because he is from the United States, but, in addition, his father has French roots and his mother, Spanish."

Ana María Reyes collaborated through Aldeas Infantiles, an NGO that defends children's rights: "The mark he has left on vulnerable groups and the people we have worked with is impossible to erase," she says in ARA. "What I learned is to always think about directly helping those who need it most," she adds.

"A very calm man"

In the square, a group of young people put on a show northern marinera, a traditional dance from the area. Aurora Dueñas, a woman watching him, notes: "I was very happy that he mentioned Chiclayo on the balcony of San Pedro," she says, "because it's such a small dot on the map, it might never have been known if it weren't for him." His daughter, who accompanies him, recalls receiving confirmation from Prevost. "When I saw him, I thought, 'That sounds familiar!' and it turns out, yes, it was him!" she laughs. "I really liked his Masses at school; he was a very calm man," she adds.

At the city hall, a colonial-style building next to the cathedral, Mayor Janet Isabel Cubas is confident that Prevost will maintain his adherence to the Church's social doctrine: "Everything that points to decent work for a decent life, in line with what has been done for us." Indeed, Francis is mentioned several times throughout the evening Mass, when the square fills to overflowing with people waving Vatican and Peruvian flags, shaking white and yellow balloons, and, from time to time, chanting slogans like "the Pope is Chiclayano" either "Dad, friend, Chiclayo is with you".

In the homily, Bishop Farfán praises the leadership capacity in times of crisis that Prevost has demonstrated in Chiclayo, such as the management of the floods after the phenomenon The Child left some towns flooded in 2017, or when, during the coronavirus pandemic, he managed to raise money to buy a ventilator that was missing.

Farfán discreetly moves into geopolitics, highlighting Prevost's ability to "read the times." In a turbulent context, the bishop believes that "Latin America is the continent of hope for the entire world." The general feeling among people in Chiclayo is that another pope who understands the reality of the peripheries is beneficial for countries like Peru, which, while maintaining a certain economic stability, is suffering from a serious political and institutional crisis, in addition to corruption scandals and severe episodes of violence. "Peru is not in a good moment," laments lawyer Falla, "but this news from the sky has made us happy." And he concludes: "It has been... like a miracle."