Peru loses second bishop in two days as Pope Leo's visit nears

Bishop Jorge Pedro Carrión Pavlich of Puno, Peru, died at age 76, just two days after the death of Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco and less than two weeks before Pope Leo XIV arrives in the country.

His death was announced Sunday, Nov. 1, during a Mass at the Shrine of the Virgin of Candelaria in Puno. He had been hospitalized at a clinic in Lima.

The Peruvian bishops' conference issued a statement of condolence shortly afterward. “We join in prayer with the Church of Puno, his family and the entire Catholic community, thanking God for his life and his dedication to the service of the Church,” the bishops said, asking prayers for his eternal rest and for the consolation of his family.

Alarcón, 74, died Friday, Oct. 30, after a battle with cancer. He had been helping prepare for the popeʼs stop in Cusco on Nov. 15, and Pope Leo expressed sorrow at his death. Meanwhile, Leo, who served for two decades in Peru as a missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo, will visit the country Nov. 11–16, according to the published schedule . Puno is not on the itinerary.

Five decades of service Carrión was born in Tarma, in Peruʼs central Andes. The Archdiocese of…