Pope Leo thanks God as 1.5 million cheer in Peru city he served as bishop
CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo held the central event of his 12-day South America tour on Friday, an outdoor Mass in northern Peru where he told a vast crowd of people who once knew him as their bishop that he thanked God he was alive to see them. People arrived on foot and in lines of vehicles at an arid field outside Chiclayo, a city 10,700 km (6,650 miles) from Rome, where the former Robert…
Chiclayo, Peru — Pope Leo celebrated the high point of his 12-day journey through South America on Friday with an outdoor Mass attended by an impressive 1.5 million people. The faithful, who had known him as the bishop of their city, gathered in the arid Pampas de Pimentel, a desolate field located 10,700 kilometers (6,650 miles) from Rome, where the former Robert Prevost remains affectionately known as "Padre" or "Amigo."
As Leo made his way through the crowd in an open-air popemobile, the crowd erupted in cheers, waving Vatican flags and shielding themselves from the harsh sunlight with umbrellas. The Pope, having recently undergone lung cancer surgery, expressed his gratitude in his sermon, thankful for his survival and for being able to return to his adopted home of Chiclayo exactly one month after his treatment. The crowd responded with chants of "Pope Leo is here!" and "The Pope is from Chiclayo!"
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