Pope Leo XIV, back in his former diocese, says all Christians are called to be missionaries

CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo XIV returned on Friday to his former diocese, where he received an ecstatic welcome and seemed equally moved to be back.

“What a joy it is to return to Chiclayo! It is a blessing for me to be with you once again,” Leo said at the start of his homily at an open-air Mass in an arid plain outside the city.

Then he added a poignant reminder that, despite the hectic pace of his 12-day trip to South America — which has left him seemingly unfazed a week into the journey — he had cancer surgery only a month ago.

“Thank you for your affection, support, and prayers, especially for my health during this time of trial which, with God’s help, I am overcoming,” the pope said.

Approximately 1 million people lined the pope’s route to the Mass site on the Pampas de Pimentel, and another 500,000 attended the liturgy, according to the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds while arriving for Mass near Chiclayo, Peru, Nov. 13, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Leo served as bishop of Chiclayo for eight years out of two decades in total as a missionary in Peru. He is the first foreign missionary in at least centuries to have been elected to the papacy.…