When he appeared as Pope Leo Xiv on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the born Robert Francis Prevost spoke in Italian for 10 minutes. He then transitioned to Spanish, laughing with a smile, greeting his "Diederation of Chicarlo in Peru".

Many Peruvians are happy with the Leo election and are honored to call themselves fellow citizens. "The Pope is Peru!" reported on live reports of Latino Noticias, one of the major national networks. Other news outlets around Lima where I live have similar headlines. Within minutes, Peru knew that the new pope, born and raised in Chicago, served in Peru for twenty years and was a state-owned citizen in 2015.

While in South American countries, he spent a bloody civil war with parishioners, a decade-long dictatorship and an unstable post-ruling period, which so far resulted in three former presidents being sentenced to prison sentences. In these challenges, Prevost became part of Peruvian society and ultimately became the leader.

Prevost's leadership role in Chicago and Rome was crucial to his formation. But as a religious scholar in Latin America, I think it was his time in Peru who prepared to face the challenges of guiding the Catholic Church around the world. In Peru, where Catholicism penetrates public life, Prest faces deep social and political challenges with bishops that many other countries may never face directly.

Missionaries during wars and dictatorship

Prevost first arrived in Peru in 1985. The young man, a member of St. Augustine, has been sent to Chulucanas in the northern province of Piura. Chulucanas is about 30 miles east of the regional capital, and the desert coast begins to rise into the Andes.

A year later, Prevost left his PhD and served briefly in Illinois. But he soon returned to Peru and worked as a missionary in the northern city of Trujillo. He stayed in the rest of the 1980s and 1990s during the civil war between the government and various radical groups - Maoist Guerrillas or "Shining Road" designed to install Sendero Luminoso, a communist country.

Violence has struck other areas, but Trujillo and its surrounding areas are home to car bombs, damage to the power grid and brutal military trawling operations. Prevost accompanied Peruvians on the darkest days in the country's history.

During these years, Prevost trained future clergy and served as parish pastor. A fellow Augustinian recalled that Prevost played a key role in recruiting and training Peruvian candidates. Prevost also established the Diocese of Trujillo in Nuestra Señorade Montserrat, where his parishioners called him "Padre Roberto".

As the country transitioned from a civil war period that eventually killed nearly 70,000 people. In the 1990s, President Alberto Fujimori's administration built a polarized legacy by undermining democracy and civil rights, while capturing two of the most powerful guerrilla leaders.

As I have shown in my research, religion and politics are intertwined in the depths of Peru. By the 1990s, the Peruvian Catholic Church had distributed between members who defended human rights and those who defended the government's often cruel tactics. Juan Luis Cipriani was then the Archbishop of Ayacucho - the Andean stronghold of Sendero Luminoso - and became a spokesperson for the pro-state faction, using human rights defenders as defenders of terrorism.

Prevost is a critical view of any party, including the government. Diego Garcia-Sayan, the country's former Attorney and Foreign Minister, recently wrote Prevost is willing to oppose the legalization of the death penalty and defend the embattled human rights groups.

From Chiclayo to Vatican

After returning to the United States in 1999, Prevost rose through the leadership of the Augustine Order. He was sent back to Peru in 2014 when Pope Francis appointed him as the Chief Executive of the Acts and later named Bishop of the northern diocese of Chiclayo.

As a bishop, Prevost became the voice of democracy and justice. In a public statement to the state media in 2017, he urged former President Fujimori to “personally forgive and be prosecuted for the great injustice.”

During his tenure as bishop, Prevost helped his community through the 19th pandemic. He also plays a key role in Chiclayo's growing population of immigrants in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, he is gaining confidence from his peers and Pope Francis. Prevost held a leadership role at the Peruvian Bishops' Conference and played a central role during Francis' 2018 visit to Peru. In 2023, Francis appointed Principal Prevost of Bishop Dicastery, the supervisory body that named the new bishop in the world.

Prevost held a position in Rome but was sad to leave Peru again. "This time, it's hard for me to get out of here," Prefoster told Peruvian media.

In recent years, Prevost has assumed the core reasons for Pope Francis. He is a key actor in the Vatican investigation of the Peruvian organization Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, which was found to have committed dozens of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s. Francis dissolved the organization in 2025. Prevost is also increasingly focused on indigenous and environmental rights, consistent with Francis’ 2015 encyclopedia “Laudato SI” and the 2019 Bishops’ Conference.

Local celebrations

Celebrating photos and memes of the Peruvian pope flying around social media and WhatsApp groups in Peru. Photos of Prevost eating traditional dishes from the North Coast are particularly popular. AI-generated memes wear Peruvian national football jerseys or eat ceviche with Inka Kola Soda.

In Chicalayo and Trujillo, in addition to the official church celebrations, thousands of people expressed their joy in the streets with placards and hymns.

Leo Xiv obviously brings memories of his years in Peru to the Vatican. He chose Peruvian pastor Edgar Rimaycuna, from whom the Pope served as his private secretary in Chiclayo.

I believe that the challenge of Leo guiding his parishioners in the twenty years in Peru should provide valuable lessons for the new pope to build on the legacy of Francis, the first Pope in Latin America.