Forty years ago, in 1985, Robert Francis Prévost arrived in Peru to begin his work as a missionary, a significant time for the current new Pope Leo XIV. His first assignment was the mission of Chulucanas, in the mountains of the Piura region.
In this Diocese, Prévost served as parish vicar of the cathedral and chancellor of the Territorial Prelature. During his time in Peru, Prévost not only dedicated himself to evangelization, but also played a crucial role in the formation of new priests and in the administration of the diocese.
The Diocese of Chulucanas (Latin: Dioecesis Chulucanensis) is an ecclesiastical circumscription of the Catholic Church in Peru that has jurisdiction over three provinces of Piura: Ayabaca, Huancabamba, and Morropón, where there is a majority Catholic population.
- Pope Leo XIV sends greetings in spanish to his "Beloved Diocese of Chiclayo" in Peru
The main seat of the diocese is in the city of Chulucanas, where the Cathedral of the Holy Family is located. It oversees 23 parishes, including a shrine to Our Lady of the Pillar in Ayabaca, where the Señor Cautivo de Ayabaca is venerated.
After a brief return to the United States, where he worked as a vocation and mission director for the Augustinian Province of Chicago, Prévost returned to Peru in 1988.
For the next decade, he directed the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and taught canon law at the diocesan seminary. His deep knowledge of the region and his fluency in Spanish, among other languages, allowed him to establish a meaningful connection with the local community.
Prevost, 69, was born in the United States but naturalized as a Peruvian citizen in 2015 when he registered with the National Renewal (Reniec). He has a valid DNI registered in Chiclayo, the city where he served as bishop.
His ties to Peru are so close that he was a member of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023 and became a Peruvian citizen to comply with the requirements of the concordat between the Holy See and the Peruvian State.
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Publicado: 8/5/2025