Pope Leo expected to visit 5 Peruvian cities in November, president says
VATICAN CITY — Peruvian President José María Balcázar said Pope Leo XIV has given him “permission” to confirm to reporters the pope’s intention to visit five cities in the country — Lima, Chiclayo, Piura, Pucallpa, and Cusco — during the first half of November. “He has confirmed to us that he will be in Peru in the first half of November. From Lima, he will go to Chiclayo, from Chiclayo to Piura, from Piura to Pucallpa, in the jungle, and he would also visit Cusco,” he said, following a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on June 18. The president noted that the team responsible for organizing papal flights will ultimately determine the route. He also did not rule out a possible stop in Arequipa: “As [Pope Leo] will handle it, according to his team of cardinals and the way he plans everything, it’s possible that he could also be in Arequipa.” Balcázar also said he offered the pontiff several suggestions. Among them, he proposed that after his visit to Chiclayo, he could travel by helicopter “to the Andean area of Incahuasi and Cañaris, which is a very poor, Quechua-speaking region that he knows very well.” “We have offered him a helicopter to reach any place he wishes quickly, because he wants to cover as many small towns as possible in the north and also in the jungle and Cusco,” he told the group of journalists, among them EWTN News, waiting for him after his private audience with the Holy Father. Balcázar shares details of his meeting with the Holy Father The president described the meeting as “magnificent and friendly” and highlighted as a meaningful detail that he is a “congressman for Lambayeque, Chiclayo,” the city where the pope lived from 2015 to 2023. “We have known each other before,” he explained, referring to the reason why the private audience, held in the Vatican’s Apostolic Library, lasted “almost two hours.” Balcázar’s visit coincided with the vote count from the second round of Peru’s presidential elections. According to the president, they discussed the country’s political situation, especially the need for the transition of power after the election to be “as orderly as possible, without major conflicts, and for the loser to recognize the winner.” He added that the pope “is concerned that we are still in the middle of this vote.” The official proclamation of the winner is expected in mid-July. During the meeting, they also discussed the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas , published May 25, which focuses on issues such as artificial intelligence and human rights. “We went through his entire encyclical, which, of course, I have read, and what comes through is a powerful call to the common good,” he said. They also spoke about migration. The pope, Balcázar explained, is “aware that there are criminals who migrate from one country to another,” but at the same time is “even more aware that we should not persecute migrants moving from one country to another, because the world has always been marked by migration everywhere, and those migrants must be given the right to life, especially, as he emphasizes, in a very important chapter on human rights.” “Those human rights must have concrete substance, not just a lyrical declaration, but must be translated into material and objective realities,” he added. After leaving the Apostolic Palace around 1:00 p.m. Rome time, the president went to the Vatican Gardens, where he stopped to pray before the image of St. Rose of Lima, enthroned in a historic ceremony presided over by the pope in January. Vatican highlights good relations with Peru According to the Vatican, in the subsequent meeting with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, “satisfaction” was expressed over the good relations between the Holy See and Peru, along with a desire to strengthen them further. They also discussed “matters of common interest, including socioeconomic developments, illegal mining activity, the promotion of the common good and dialogue, and efforts to foster social cohesion.” Likewise, “there was an exchange of views on the regional and international sociopolitical situation, with particular attention to migration, organized crime, and the repercussions of conflicts.” Visit still awaiting official confirmation At the beginning of June, Balcázar stated that Leo XIV would visit Peru on Nov. 10, though several months remain before the trip and the Holy See has not yet officially confirmed the final itinerary. This story was first published by ACI Prensa , EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
3 months ago
Pope Leo XIV has confirmed a papal pilgrimage to Peru for the first half of November 2026, with a planned itinerary that includes Lima, Chiclayo, Piura, Pucallpa and Cusco, and the possibility of additional stops in remote towns, Arequipa, Puno or Iquitos. The announcement follows a nearly two‑hour private audience between the pontiff and Peru’s interim president José María Balcázar at the Vatican, during which they also discussed migration, human‑rights issues and the country’s political transition. While the Holy See has not yet issued an official travel bulletin, the Peruvian government says the papal team will finalize the exact route and logistics, including the provision of helicopters for hard‑to‑reach areas.
The president said the Holy Father will arrive in Lima before moving north to Chiclayo, then Piura, onward to the Amazonian city of Pucallpa, and finally to the historic highland centre of Cusco. A stop in Arequipa remains “possible” pending the pope’s own planning. Helicopter access to the Andean towns of Incahuasi and Cañaris was also proposed. 2
OSV News adds that the trip could last eight to ten days and that additional visits to Puno and Iquitos are being evaluated for security and logistical reasons. 3
Aleteia repeats the core route—Lima, Chiclayo, Piura, Pucallpa and Cusco—and notes that the pope will also travel to “small towns in the north and the jungle,” with helicopters on standby. 4
President Balcázar described the audience in the Apostolic Library as “magnificent and friendly,” lasting almost two hours. They reviewed the recently issued encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on AI and human rights, and spoke at length about migration, organized crime and the need for humane treatment of migrants. 2
During the same visit, Balcázar met Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, where discussions focused on socioeconomic development, illegal mining, the common good and social cohesion. 3
The meeting occurred while Peru’s runoff election results (June 7) were still being tallied; an official winner is expected by mid‑July. Balcázar, not a candidate, emphasized the pope’s hope for an orderly transition and urged political unity. 2
Both the Catholic World Report and OSV News state that the Holy See has not yet issued a formal announcement confirming the visit, leaving the final itinerary to the papal flight‑planning team. This mirrors past instances where host nations disclosed trips before Vatican confirmation. 2 3*
Assess papal visits as expressions of Catholic mission in Latin America
Papal visits to Latin America can be read as more than diplomatic or ceremonial events: they function as visible, pastoral expressions of the Church’s missionary identity—a mission rooted in communion with Christ, animated by evangelization, and carried out in concrete works of faith, reconciliation, and support for local churches.
Catholic teaching frames the Church as missionary by nature. Pope Leo XIV recalls that the Second Vatican Council teaches: “the Church on earth is by her very nature missionary” because of her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
From that perspective, papal visits become a sign that the universal Church is not detached from local realities. John Paul II explicitly connects his papal travel with the pastoral renewal and evangelizing needs of Latin America, describing the aim as reviewing ecclesial situations, identifying pastoral problems, and offering guidelines for an evangelizing strategy—“in a very concrete way with my 18 apostolic visits to the beloved Continent of Hope.”
Pope Francis, in the concrete example of Colombia, presents his apostolic journey as bringing “Christ’s blessing” and the Church’s pastoral encouragement for a country’s aspiration for “life and peace,” shaped by the witness of the faithful and the presence of children and young people.
Assessment: In Latin America, papal visits function as ecclesial “field-visits” to the missionary Church—making the universal ministry of the Pope legible as encouragement, confirmation, and integration of local evangelization into wider communion.
Mission is not only geographic (going “out there”) but ecclesial (being one in Christ). Pope Leo XIV emphasizes that mission requires unity and that it is oriented “so that the world may believe.” He also ties missionary renewal to communion with the Holy Spirit and to avoiding factionalism.
The pontifical focus on missionary communion is particularly visible in his messages to the Pontifical Mission Societies, where the Pope stresses World Mission Day as participation of every community—prayer and sacrifices, and material support—to sustain the missionary work of the Church, including in “areas of first evangelization” and for young churches.
This matters for Latin America because apostolic visits often intersect with the work of local episcopal conferences and mission structures: Pope John Paul II highlights that his travels are connected with the Latin-American Episcopate (CELAM) and its assemblies, including Puebla, which he describes as shaping “a new form in carrying out the papal office.”
Assessment: Papal visits express mission as communion—strengthening the unity of believers and encouraging coordinated missionary efforts rather than isolated initiatives.
A distinctive thread in the Church’s missionary approach in Latin America is inculturation: the Gospel “takes flesh” within real cultures and histories.
In a message tied to Mexico’s national missionary congress, Pope Leo XIV uses the image of leaven to explain how the Gospel spreads: Christ’s word integrates faith into the history and culture of a people “so as to transform them from within.” He notes that the Gospel did not erase what missionaries found; rather, it “transformed it,” kneading languages, symbols, customs, and hopes until the Gospel “took root” and bore fruit.
Marian devotion functions here not as a decorative devotion but as a missionary instrument. Pope Leo XIV presents Our Lady of Guadalupe as “Star of Evangelization,” and interprets Guadalupe’s appearance and message as a missionary impetus that enabled evangelization to become rooted in the people’s response to Christ’s call.
Pope Francis makes the same Marian connection concrete when speaking of evangelization and missionary history across the Americas: he portrays Our Lady of Guadalupe as “a constant presence and companion” and ties the mission to the continent to her maternal role.
Assessment: Papal visits, when they resonate with Marian and local cultural motifs, underscore that Catholic mission in Latin America is not merely a transplant of forms; it is a conversion of cultures from within, guided by the Church’s sacramental and Marian life.
Latin America’s missionary reality includes conflict, poverty, violence, and social fragmentation. Papal visits often address these not only as “social issues” but as horizons for the Church’s evangelizing charity.
In Colombia, Pope Francis frames the journey within the aim of blessing the country’s aspiration to “life and peace,” explicitly reading the social tragedy through a spiritual lens: “the Evil One wanted to divide… but the love of Christ… is stronger than sin and than death.” He also highlights the reconciliation theme culminating in a liturgy of reconciliation and a Eucharistic celebration connected to martyrs and Christ wounded like his people.
Likewise, Pope Benedict XVI’s Mass for Latin America stresses that the continent is called to safeguard faith while being “defenders of human life from conception to natural end” and “promoters of peace,” along with initiatives for reconciliation and fraternity, solidarity, care for the environment, and concrete efforts to overcome poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and violence.
Assessment: Papal visits can be understood as moral and spiritual anchoring of evangelization—showing that the Gospel’s mission includes reconciliation and the defense of human dignity, not only proclamation.
In Latin America, mission often emphasizes the formation of missionary disciples—not passive recipients of evangelization but active bearers of Christ’s love in ways suited to local reality.
Pope Francis, in speaking to Colombia’s church, situates mission in the formation of missionary disciples “with greater boldness,” echoing Aparecida’s emphasis. He stresses discipleship that “knows how to see” reality with Jesus’ eyes and heart, and then to “judge” rightly before acting and committing themselves.
Pope Leo XIV likewise describes mission as the proclamation, living, and sharing of God’s faithful love—mission born of love, lived in love, and leading to love—grounded in unity and in Christ’s prayer “so that the love… may be in them.”
Assessment: Papal visits function as teaching moments that aim to form a lasting missionary culture—discipleship that is contemplative (eyes of faith), practical (judgment and action), and communal (unity in mission).
Catholic mission is constant in substance while expressions may vary with the Pope’s experience and the historical context.
A scholarly treatment of Pope Francis’s theological mind (contrasting it with predecessors) argues that personal context shapes emphasis—suggesting Francis’s experience of “masses of impoverished yet naturally religious people” influenced his balancing of priorities such as preferential option for the poor, respect for popular religiosity, and proclamation.
Even where one does not adopt all conclusions of that analysis, it highlights a legitimate principle consistent with Church life: different popes may stress different pastoral emphases while remaining within the same overall missionary framework of evangelization, unity, and communion.
Assessment: Papal visits can therefore be read as expressions of mission that may differ in tone and priority (reconciliation, Marian inculturation, missionary discipleship, social charity), yet remain ordered to the same Gospel purpose.
Papal visits in Latin America, assessed through Catholic sources, are best understood as visible missionary events: they strengthen communion and unity for mission, encourage inculturation and Marian-rooted evangelization, address reconciliation and the protection of human dignity, and form missionary disciples ready to “see, judge, and act” in the Church’s life.