Pope Leo XIV greeted on Sunday the Augustinian community from his former Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo, who had arrived in Rome for the Holy Year. The greeting took place after the Angelus prayer during his summer rest in the town of Castel Gandolfo.
"I greet the pastoral community 'Blessed Agustin del Taramo' from the San Agustin School in Chiclayo, Peru, who are also in Rome to celebrate the Jubilee," he said during the greetings following the Angelus, recited at the gates of the Castel Gandolfo palace.
Leo XIV, Francis Robert Prevost, is American but also holds Peruvian nationality, having spent much of his life on missions in the Andean country, eventually becoming the Bishop of Chiclayo.
On May 8, just after being elected pope, he used Spanish in his first message to the world to greet his "beloved Diocese of Chiclayo."
Days later, on May 19, Pope Leo XIV did not hide his emotion upon receiving the delegation from the Diocese of Chiclayo, Lambayeque region, made up of around 60 people.
The most moving moment of the meeting came when the head of the Catholic Church was presented with typical Lambayeque products as gifts, such as zapallo loche (a type of squash), king kong (a traditional sweet), algarrobina (carob syrup), and others, symbols of the strong connection with Chiclayo.
The meeting took place in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican, a venue where matters of great importance to the Catholic Church are addressed. This was the space chosen by Pope Leo XIV to joyfully receive the Lambayeque delegation.
Leo XIV is spending a few days of rest in the Roman town of Castel Gandolfo, where popes have a palace traditionally used as a summer residence, although Francis chose not to do so during his 13-year pontificate.
(END) EFE/MAO/JMP/MVB