Pope Leo rides in helicopter cockpit during Peru trip

Pope Leo XIV visited the remote Andean town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba on Saturday as part of a 12-day South American tour. During an open-air Mass, the 71-year-old pontiff warned that the heartland of the ancient Inca Empire is suffering because poverty is driving residents to leave their communities for coastal cities like Lima and Trujillo. The New Straits Times and Free Malaysia Today report that these remote, poverty-stricken communities are shrinking dramatically.

The visit was a personal return for the Pope, who previously lived in Peru for approximately 20 years as a missionary under the name Robert Francis Prevost. According to SABC News, he is the first Peruvian citizen to become pope and holds both US and Peruvian citizenship. The Daily Times noted that residents of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba had known him during his years as the bishop of Chiclayo, a journey he made several times between 2015 and 2023.

While the Pope previously traveled the area on horseback, he arrived in the high-altitude town by helicopter this time. France 24 reported that the visit comes just one month after the Pope underwent cancer surgery. In the Cajamarca region, which includes Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, up to 40 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, Daily Times, New Straits Times, Free Malaysia Today, SABC News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.