Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru on Wednesday for the final leg of his South American tour, returning to the country where he spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop. Thousands gathered to welcome him home as “Padre Robert”, with many hoping his visit will bring attention to poverty, crime and political instability.

A jubilant Pope Leo XIV said Peru was his “homeland” on Wednesday as he returned to a country where he spent more than two decades as a missionary and bishop before becoming head of the Catholic Church.

Speaking to authorities and diplomats in Lima, the US-born pontiff said that he was “returning to a beloved land” that, after years working in Peru and acquiring Peruvian citizenship, had become part of him.

The visit to Peru marks the final leg of Leo’s three-nation South America tour and its emotional highlight. As a dual citizen of the United States and Peru, he’s the first pope from each country.

Leo’s charter plane touched down at a Lima-area air base, where he was welcomed by President Keiko Fujimori.

Leo seemed genuinely moved as he emerged from his Aerolíneas Argentinas charter plane, smiling broadly as he greeted Fujimori and embracing two children who brought him flowers. He plunged into the crowd of well-wishers on the tarmac who waved flags of Peru and the Vatican and stopped to hold a baby and listen to a children’s choir.

Thousands of spectators lined the streets along his motorcade route waving Peruvian and Holy See flags during his return to the country that the pope says taught him “what it means to be a shepherd.”

“My heart is so excited that it makes me want to cry with joy,” said Zuly Castillo, who served as Leo’s secretary when he was bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo near the Pacific Coast.

“Peru is the crown of the trip, the homecoming of the first Peruvian pope, no matter where he was born,” said Gustavo Morello, an associate professor of sociology at Boston College and the author of “Lived Religion in Latin America.”

“This is a return to his origins without any doubt,” Morello said.

In preparation for the pope’s visit, a huge 46-foot (14-metre) statue of the pontiff was unveiled in the port of El Callao. Baristas in Lima, the capital, were offering cappuccinos decorated with the image of the pope.

With hands raised and voices lifted in song, hundreds awaited the pope’s arrival in Lima in front of the presidential palace, where a stage and giant screens had been set up amid tight security.

“Long live Christ!” the crowd sang, following a Catholic choir on the stage.

“It’s so beautiful and so moving,” said Anni Marino, 52, who enthusiastically joined the singing. “I hold it in my heart because he’s the representative of God.”

Source: France 24