Pope Leo XIV, who holds Peruvian citizenship after serving as a missionary and bishop in the country, drew large crowds on his return to Peru. In Lima's Plaza Mayor, 40,000 people serenaded him with "Contigo Perú," a popular song celebrating national unity, and he sang along enthusiastically.

Later, during a vigil in Lima's stadium, the pope joined in singing the hymn "Alma Misionera" (Missionary Soul). Vatican estimates put the crowd at 60,000 people inside the stadium and another 300,000 outside. Worshippers from Chiclayo, the pope's former diocese, described the visit as a blessing for all of Peru.S2

Speaking in the plaza, Leo denounced the culture of "machismo" and violence against women prevalent in Peru, saying it contradicted Christian teaching that men and women share equal dignity. He noted that poor, Indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women are doubly penalized and called for all women to be valued, protected and respected. Gender-based violence is an urgent social issue in Peru, which recorded 1,261 femicide victims between 2016 and 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics.S2

Addressing the influential Catholic hierarchy, the 71-year-old pope urged bishops to be models of unity and communion and to accompany their flocks. He told Peruvian bishops to respond to victims of clergy sexual abuse with truth and justice, and he met with six survivors, including people from an abusive sect-like group that Pope Francis suppressed last year.S2

Leo's health was a focus of attention, as he had undergone lung cancer surgery last month. He bounded up a steep flight of stairs without any apparent problems on Thursday and joked that some "doubting Thomases" had predicted he would not be able to make the trip.S2