Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost acted as a missionary in Peru from 2014 to 2023, where he spent most of his time in the city of Trujillo and was later appointed bishop of the coastal city of Chiclayo.
The experiences and contact with the Catholic Church of Latin America guaranteed him Peruvian citizenship in 2015, as well as creating good memories with faithful who lived with the current Pontiff.
The secretary of the diocese of Chiclayo shared that Prevost did not hesitate to help people at risk during flooding or flooding in the region.
“During the rainy seasons, nothing prevented him. Two sectors in the districts of Illimo and Pacora were severely affected by the rain, when the Leche river overflowed, flooding everything,” said Zury Castillo.
“He went driving his van; he didn’t need a driver, just carried food bags and supplies, and distributed them to the people who crossed the waters. Nothing had it,” he said proudly.
Castillo also said that the community always thought that, after leaving Peru to be named Cardinal and heading the Vatican’s dicker, he would become Pope someday.
“Later, when he became Cardinal, we told him that the next step would be to be Pope. He laughed and shaking his head. But in our hearts, something told us that after he departed, he would become Papa,” Chiclayo’s secretary of the diocese said.
Rodrigo Cuoto, manager of Las Americas restaurant, which was on the side of the Archdiocese where Prevost operated, said the cardinal ate on the spot, and tells his stories next to him.
“The Pope was our neighbor because the archdiocese is right next door (from the restaurant). He gave me a blessing every day, no, and came to eat here. We served him and told stories with him.” Cuoto said.
My grandmother introduced me to him. I used to serve it. One of his favorite dishes was fried chicken with Las Américas sauce, a traditional dish of our restaurant, ”added the manager.
Today, in front of Las Americas, it is possible to find a blackboard in honor of Pope Leo XIV, which signals that the pontiff used to attend the place.
As much as it was chosen during the conclave last Thursday (8), Leo XIV will formally sworn in as Pope on May 18, when he will celebrate his inaugural public mass in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said.
This content was originally published in “We told stories with him”: Peruvians recall Pope Leão XIV in the country on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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