The Roman Catholic Church elected its new pope yesterday after the death of Pope Francis. Robert Francis Prevost, born in the United States, won the conclave election and celebrated his first mass as head of the Roman Catholic Church today.
However, there is one other country besides the United States that is rejoicing over the election of the new pope. And that is Peru, writes SIR (Servizio Informazione Religiosa). “He is one of us“, say the locals.
Pope Leo XIV is closely linked to the South American country. For years, he chose to work in one of the peripheries of the Church, namely Peru. Prevost also has Peruvian citizenship among the 20 years he spent working there and is today the emeritus bishop of Chiclayo in the north of the country. He also held other positions there, and also directed an Augustinian seminary.
Peru rejoiced at the election of the new Pope Leo XIV. Robert Francis Prevost, an American, can actually be considered a Peruvian at heart. In the South American country, he was a missionary, priest and bishop. There, during his mission, he was close to the people.
His biography also shows that on September 26, 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by the Argentine Pope, and in March 2018 he was elected second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, within which he is also a member of the Economic Council and chairman of the Commission for Culture and Education. In 2019, Francis included him among the members of the Congregation for the Clergy, and the following year - among those of the Congregation for Bishops. In the same year 2020, on April 15, he was appointed apostolic administrator of the Peruvian diocese of Callao, writes Vaticannews.va.