At papal Mass in Peru, Pope Leo XIV praises the evangelists of the Andes

SANTA CRUZ DE SUCCHABAMBA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV, who served for two decades as a missionary in Peru, traveled on Saturday to a remote mountain corner of his former diocese and paid tribute to the missionaries who had evangelized the land for centuries.

“Time and again, they came without provisions or letters of recommendation, to proclaim the name of Jesus and spread devotion to the Lord of Miracles of Andabamba and his Immaculate Mother,” the pope said in his homily at an open-air Mass, referring to the two parishes in Santa Cruz, a town in the Andean highlands.

Pope Leo XIV delivers the homily during Holy Mass at Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Peru, Nov. 14, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Leo arrived on Saturday by military helicopter, but he acknowledged that much of the congregation had made a more difficult trip.

“Many of you have traveled long distances to be here. Some have come from rural communities, leaving behind your families, farms and daily occupations. The journey you made is not only a passage along difficult roads, but also a pilgrimage of faith,” the pope said.

More than 20,000 people attended the Mass on the town’s esplanade, according to…