Mildred Camacho, goddaughter of Pope Leo XIV: "I admire his work"

Media from around the world seek her out for interviews

Mildred Camacho is the first goddaughter of León XIV. Her baptism coincided with her birthday and the anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Chulucanas. She was baptized when she was one year old and is proud and happy that her godfather is the Holy Father. Photo: ANDINA/Jhonel Rodríguez Robles

12:36 | Piura, may. 12.

By Maira Flores Rodríguez

Mildred Camacho is still shocked by the appointment of Robert Prevost as the new pope and how her story as the pontiff's goddaughter has spread around the world.

Even on Mother's Day, she finds time to address the various media outlets at her home in Chulucanas, Piura, the city that welcomed Leo XIV on his first visit to Peru in 1985.

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Great admiration

Mildred makes it clear that her admiration and respect for her godfather, Robert Prevost, is not recent, but dates back many years.

“When you have a godfather who works with the popes and one day, when you're a little more aware, you see a letter in the mail sending you photos with Pope John Paul II or inside the Sistine Chapel, it has a huge impact on you. I've had this admiration for years. That's why, every time I had the opportunity to see him, I felt great respect,” she tells the Andina News Agency.

Mildred comments that despite her godfather's busy schedule due to his missions, he has always kept in touch with Leo XIV, either through emails or by visiting him after a scheduled event in the country.

Mildred Camacho recalls an event at the San Agustín Church in Lima, where a large gathering of young people from around the world gathered. Seeing so many people wanting to meet with her godfather made her nervous and paralyzed by the respect she has for the now Pope Leo XIV.

“I respect him so much that I've never had the urge to express myself so much. It's always like I see him and say, 'Hello, good afternoon. How are you?' I hold back a lot with him. Imagine seeing someone you admire, not a celebrity, but someone you recognize for his work. I was afraid of speaking up, making a mistake, and being disappointed,” she explains.

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The impact of this story of Mildred becoming the goddaughter of Pope Leo XIV has been such that she was even interviewed by a journalist from Bulgaria, who made an effort to interview her in Spanish.

“National and international media has come to my house, such as Univisión, Newsday, reporters from Italy, France, Paraguay—really, from many countries. Once they called me at around 5 in the morning for a live broadcast, and I was still half asleep. I hope I didn't say anything wrong,” she notes.

This situation has led her to feel some pressure regarding her role as the pontiff's goddaughter.

“I feel completely at ease when I talk to the media, but I'm sure if I were to speak to him again, I'd get nervous. It's shocking to see him, especially because I'd want to ask him a ton of questions,” she explains.

The last time she met with Prevost was last year, where she was able to introduce him to her second daughter, Atenea, age 4.

“I remember him hugging my dad, greeting my daughter, Gaela (age 9), and then I introducing him to my second daughter. His first reaction was, ‘Oh, They are already two’ I was nervous because I kept saying to myself, ‘Now how do I explain this to him? Since I went without my husband, will he think I am divorced? How embarrassing. These were thoughts that invaded me because I wanted to make a great impression,” she explains with emotion.

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Mildred's baptism

Mildred points out that Robert Prevost is the image of what a godfather should be.

“Usually, there's this reality that the godfather is at the ceremony and then disappears from your life. But with him, things aren't like that. He has always remained close to me and my family,” she explains.

She also says that her young daughters always ask her about their godfather whenever their grandfather, Héctor Camacho, shows her photos of him, and she tells them that he travels the world.

She's not entirely sure if it's permissible for a priest to be a godfather, but that didn't stop Leo XIV from accepting. He also told Mildred's father to arrange a date that would allow him to be at the ceremony.

The baptism took place on August 17, 1996, a few days after her first birthday.

With photos in hand, Mildred tells the Andina News Agency a little about her baptism.

“There's my godfather placing the blessing on my forehead. He's with my mom and my godmother. In this other photo, they're already at the party. One of my favorite photographs is when he's handing out the favors. I think it's a testament to his connection and easy approach to people. My dad told me he's a humble, simple, cheerful person with a jovial soul,” she explains.

The story of her name

Mildred explains the origin of her name, especially because it's not common in her area.

“The most classic names are María, Juanita, among others. But in my case, Mildred was difficult, even more so because they spelled it differently. And I asked my mother, ‘Why did they give me such a difficult name?’ And she replied, ‘They gave you that name because it's your godfather's mother's name,’” he explains.

The name Mildred carries a very strong emotional charge for Robert Prevost, since the pontiff's mother had passed away at the time, and in her memory, Héctor Camacho decided to name his daughter after him, which Leo XIV happily accepted.

“The intention was to pay a small tribute to her. For me, knowing the backstory even more, it has a very strong emotional charge. It was because of this that he also asked him to be my godfather, and he happily accepted,” she notes.

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