The lens is blurred. The framework is unstable. After a while, another phone poked it to capture the scene.

But, for a big reason, the video has become popular in Peru: it captures a stupid, ready-made moment with Pope Leo Xiv, the new director of the Catholic Church.

On Sunday, the newly elected pope formally began his church leadership by holding his first Mass in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican.

His Pope has made history. Leo Xiv was born in Chicago and is the first pope ever to come from the United States. But for Peruvians in the northern city of Chiclayo, he is a hometown hero, and the 2014 viral video proves his South American roots.

Under fluorescent lights and scattered decor made of curling ribbons, Leo Xiv (called Robert Prevost then) twisted Christmas songs into a handheld microphone.

"Feliz Navidad! Feliz Navidad," he sang with the support of Chiclayo Youth's guitar band, swaying the beat. "I want to wish you a Merry Christmas!"

Under his Pope, Chiclayo, the fifth largest city in Peru, played a central role in the rise of Leo XIV.

Since 1985, Leo has served on various Catholic missions in the north of the country. But Chiclayo has been his headquarters for the last decade of his career. He served as bishop there from 2015 to 2023, and during this period he also became a Peruvian citizen.

“He has won the love of the people,” said local church leader Jose Alejandro Castillo Vera.

But while the region has warmly accepted its “Papa Chiclayano” (pope from Chiclayo), the situation in Latin America also reflects the struggles of Leo’s new post.

Catholicism is believed to be declining in Latin America. A survey by public opinion firm Latin Bill Momi found that the number of self-identified Catholics dropped from about 80% to 54 from 1995 to 2024.

In Peru, public opinion suffered after the 2015 sexual abuse scandal.

Nevertheless, in Chiclayo, Leo XIV's leadership can revitalize Catholics given his public service record.

“I think he can promote the space of dialogue,” said Yolanda Diaz, 70-year-old teacher at Chiclayo and national adviser to the National Catholic Student Union.

She believes that Leo XIV will help “the changes we want to see in the church gradually move forward.”

A hero from home

Leo XIV set the tone for his pope in the early days. In his first sentence after his election, he turned from Italian to Spanish, speaking directly to his hometown.

He said: "If you allow me a word to greet everyone, especially to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, a faithful person who accompanied their bishops, shared their faith and gave so much faith to continue to be the faithful church of Jesus Christ."

Vatican observers were quick to point out that he chose not to speak to the United States, his country of birth, nor would he like to speak in his native language.

In the days that followed, thousands of people poured into Chiclayo's main square to celebrate the new pope, dancing and receiving communion under the shadow of his wool cup egg yolks.

In the midst of a mad situation, local businesses have sniffed into economic potential. Ricardo Acosta, president of the National Association for Travel Agency and Tourism (Apavit), proposed the establishment of a Pope-themed travel route.

Chiclayo's restaurant posted a sign outside the door: "Aqui comio el papa." In other words, "The Pope ate here."

Poverty in northern Peru affects nearly a quarter of the population. Local advocates believe that the city and surrounding areas lack public infrastructure.

Facing the poverty of Peru

The problem fell into serious relief during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, when the United Nations reported that more than a thousand households in Chiclayo had no access to drinking water.

Healthcare resources have also been extended. Peru has the highest per capita mortality rate, with an estimated 665.8 deaths per 100,000 deaths.

Castillo, secretary general of Caritas Chiclayo, Castillo, remembers Leo Xiv played a key role in raising funds to buy medical-grade oxygen to treat patients.

"He came up with an idea to support the community, buy oxygen plants," Father Castillo explained.

Through their collective efforts, more than $380,000 were raised to buy the oxygen generation system.

"He appealed to the entire population, the authorities and the businessmen," Father Castillo said. "In the end, God is so big that there is not only one plant's money, but two oxygen plants."

However, both were shut down due to lack of maintenance funds. Nevertheless, Father Castillo told Al Jazeera that he hopes Pope Leo XIV will continue to advocate for the poor during the Vatican period.

“We all want him to continue to be that voice, not only for us Peruvians, but for everyone,” he said. “Many people need to get out of poverty, get out of poverty.”

From one immigrant to another

For Diaz, one of the teacher’s best memories of the new pope is working together on another pressing issue facing Peru: immigration.

Since 2018, Peru has become one of the main destinations for immigrants and asylum seekers from Venezuela, where political repression and economic instability have driven 7.9 million people abroad.

The United Nations estimates that Peru has absorbed nearly 2 million migrants. This makes it the second largest recipient of Venezuelans in Latin America.

Diaz told Al Jazeera that she witnessed the impact of Chiclayo's arrival wave. She and Leo XIV served as a new committee, where he formed a bishop to address immigration and human trafficking.

"Our surge," Diaz recalls. "We saw as many as 20,000 people arrive in Chiclayo, with over 3,000 families including children and young people. You can see them sleeping in the main square, on the street, in the church entrance, in the outside travel companies."

The influx has sparked anti-immigration sentiment among some Peruvians, leading to reports of discrimination.

But Diaz observed what Leo Xiv meant when he tried to make himself a foreigner in Peru when he visited the immigrant community.

“I’m an immigrant,” Diaz recalled. “I know what it means to come to immigration with a different culture on unknown land.”

She believes this is evidence that he can bridge the division in his new role as the pope. “He understands diversity in the church.”

Facing the Church's abuse scandal

But while Pope Lion Fourteen is largely seen as a united figure in Chiclayo, his pope rekinds some lingering controversy within the Catholic Church.

Most outrageously, allegations of sexual abuse in Catholic dioceses around the world, from the United States to Chile to Ireland.

The Catholic Church in Peru is no exception. Most of the reviews are especially a group of groups, especially Christian Vita (SCV).

It was founded in Peru in 1971 and grew to a member including Latin America.

But in 2011, the Catholic Church began receiving formal complaints about its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, and other leaders in the SCV movement.

After years of investigation, in 2015, journalists Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz published a book about complaints that shocked Peruvian society and attracted international attention.

Called Half Monks and Half Soldiers, the book details more than 30 cases of abuse, including allegations of psychological abuse, forced synthesis and other hazards in the SCV.

Ugaz told Al Jazeera that future Pope Leo supports her efforts to conduct the investigation.

"In the bishops who supported us until the end, Robert Prevost was an understanding man who realized that this issue was crucial to his pope," she said in a written statement.

Figari has been denied any misconduct. However, Leo's former Pope Francis, in the Vatican, eventually sent two envoys to Peru, including the Archbishop, to investigate.

In 2024, Peruvian church authorities issued a statement confirming the investigation found that “physical abuse, including sadism and violence” and other designed actions “including violations of subordinates’ wishes.”

Figari and other top members were eventually expelled from the organization. Later, Pope Francis took a rare step to eliminate the group completely. The inhibitory decree came into effect a week before Francis died in April, effectively repealing the organization.

But Pope Leo himself received a complaint when he was on the way to Bishop Chiclayo.

For example, in March, a network of organizations abused by a pastor (SNAP) sent a letter alleging that three women in 2022 reported her sexual abuse to the parish, only facing institutional silence.

"There are serious reasons to believe that the process of conducting the investigation did not follow the procedure for the investigation after the report of the abuse report," Snap wrote.

However, Leo XIV, in the past, told Peruvian newspaper La Republica that he refused to "cover up and keep it secret." Last week, Father Jodi Bertomer Fanos, a Vatican investigator, denied the report.

“Robert Prevost didn’t cover anything up,” Bertomeu Farnos said in Rome. “He did everything under the agreement we have in the Vatican.”

Journalist Ugaz said she is still optimistic that Leo can implement reforms.

She noted that on her first day as Pope, Leo XIV held a meeting with Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who led the Vatican Council to protect children from abuse. She also recalls the recent encouragement he gave to her and her news partners.

“He asked us to continue our work and hoped to provide news in Peru soon,” she said.