Pope Leo XIV Returns to Former Diocese in Peru to Promote Missionary Discipleship
Pope Leo XIV made a heartfelt return to Chiclayo, Peru, the diocese he led for eight years before his election to the papacy. During an open-air Mass, the Pope expressed his gratitude to the local community for their prayers and support as he continues his recovery from recent cancer surgery. He emphasized that all Christians, regardless of their status as clergy or laity, are called to serve as missionary disciples through their daily lives. The pontiff further connected the act of evangelization with the necessity of charity and caring for those in need. He concluded by reminding the faithful that true love must always be rooted in both truth and obedience to the teachings of Christ.
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Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, Peru, the former diocese where he served as bishop, and celebrated an open-air Mass before a vast crowd. In his homily, he called every Christian—not only clergy or people with extensive religious formation—to take part in missionary work through a life of faith, charity and fidelity to Jesus’ teachings. 1
Leo described his return as a joy and thanked the crowd for its affection, support and prayers, particularly during a recent period of health challenges. The visit came during his 12-day South American trip; he also said he had undergone cancer surgery a month earlier. 1
According to the Vatican, about one million people lined his route to the Mass site on the Pampas de Pimentel, while another 500,000 attended the liturgy. Leo had served as bishop of Chiclayo for eight years and spent two decades as a missionary in Peru. 1
Leo said that “all Christians,” whether ordained ministers or laypeople and regardless of their level of formation, are missionary disciples. For most laypeople, he said, evangelization means bearing witness through an authentically Christian and consistent life. 1
He described that way of life as both a grace to seek from God and a responsibility requiring personal commitment and effort. He also linked proclaiming the faith with good works, charity and care for people in need. 1
The Pope said that welcoming others does not remove the call to moral fidelity: Jesus invites people to shape their lives according to his commandments. He summarized the relationship between compassion and moral truth by saying, “Without truth, love degenerates into mere sentimentality, while truth without love becomes rigid and cold.” 1
The baptismal vocation of all Christians to evangelization and charitable witness
The baptismal vocation means that evangelization is not reserved to priests, missionaries, or people with special training: every Christian is called to make Christ known. This mission takes different forms according to a person’s state of life and circumstances, but it is expressed in both words and deeds—especially in a life shaped by charity. Christian witness is not simply a technique for attracting people; it flows from encountering God’s love and sharing that love with others.
Baptism incorporates a person into Christ and the Church, and gives the Christian vocation an apostolic dimension: a call to take part in the Church’s mission. Pope Francis describes the baptized not as passive recipients of the Church’s evangelizing work but as agents who have a personal responsibility to share the Gospel.
In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization.
“Missionary disciple” holds two realities together. Christians first receive the faith as disciples; they then share what they have received as witnesses and missionaries. The mission springs from having encountered Christ’s love, rather than from a claim to be spiritually perfect or professionally expert. Pope Francis therefore says that each Christian is a missionary “to the extent” that he or she has encountered God’s love in Christ.
This vocation belongs to the whole Church, though it does not make every member’s task identical. The Church has different ministries and services, while its mission is one. Ordained ministers have responsibilities entrusted to them in teaching, sanctifying, and governing; lay faithful also share in Christ’s mission and have a particular role in bringing the Gospel into ordinary life and society.
The common call to evangelize does not require every Christian to preach publicly or perform the same ministry. The apostolic task is “one and the same everywhere and in every condition,” but it is carried out differently according to circumstances. For lay people, the places where they live, work, study, and form families are important settings for Christian witness. Their presence in these ordinary contexts allows them to bring Gospel values into relationships and public life.
That witness should be both credible and communicative. Consistency between conduct and faith gives Christian words integrity; words, in turn, can make clear that the goodness shown in action is connected to Christ and the Gospel. John Paul II points to such concrete signs as respect for life, concern for others, truth and justice, rejection of materialism, and fidelity in marriage. He also highlights “like towards like”: families can help other families, students can reach students, and young people can lead other young people toward Christ.
Charity is not an optional addition to the Church’s mission. John Paul II describes charity as the “royal road” for everyone and says that the whole Church is called to walk it in the footsteps of Christ. He speaks of a charity “which evangelizes”: love of neighbor can make the Gospel visible and credible.
This does not mean that charitable service should be treated merely as a means of gaining converts. Rather, Christian charity is a response to God’s love and a way of serving others; its witness points beyond itself to the love of Christ. The Church’s mission follows Christ’s own path of service and self-giving, and Christians participate in that mission by serving in their own circumstances.
Charitable witness can take both personal and communal forms: practical help, persevering fraternity, concern for justice, or the patient care of people encountered in daily life. John Paul II emphasizes that Christians can influence others through integrity and sustained practice of fraternal charity—not only through formal Church activities.
A good deed may embody the Gospel, but Christian evangelization also involves making Christ known. John Paul II says that the witness of life is completed by the witness of words; Christians are called to proclaim Christ “in word and deed.” This does not mean that every conversation must become a speech or that every Christian must use the same style. It means that faith should be visible in conduct and, when appropriate, expressed clearly enough that others can understand the hope and love at its heart.
The source of this witness is not personal achievement. Christians share the mission through faith, hope, and charity given by the Holy Spirit, and they do so as members of the Church, not as isolated individuals. Baptism unites Christians in Christ and his Body; the Church’s communal life is therefore part of how faith is witnessed and transmitted.
For a Christian, living the baptismal vocation begins close to home: let faith shape how you treat family, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, and people in need. Seek consistency between what you profess and how you act; serve others with genuine charity; and be ready, when the moment calls for it, to speak about Christ and the hope you have received. These are not separate missions for specialists and ordinary believers. They are different expressions of the same calling, lived according to each person’s gifts and circumstances.
The central point is that Baptism is not only a gift received but also a call to participate in Christ’s mission. Evangelization gives voice to the Gospel; charitable witness makes its love tangible. When these belong together in a Christian life, the Church’s mission becomes visible in both proclamation and service.