Pope laments violence enveloping Peru as he ministers to far-flung former flock

CHICLAYO, Peru (AP) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Saturday for an end to the violence that is ravaging Peru as he addressed one of the most pressing issues in his adopted homeland from the seat of his former cathedral.

Leo celebrated a special ritual at Chiclayo’s cathedral, entrusting his pontificate to the Virgin Mary, before heading to the far-flung edge of his former diocese, in the lush green mountains of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba.

Leo traveled by helicopter to the picturesque city, located 150 kilometers (93 miles) from downtown Chiclayo at an altitude of 2,035 meters (6,675 feet), in a demonstration of his belief that shepherds must go to the farthest reaches to minister to their flock.

The former Robert Prevost is beloved here precisely because he got out of the sacristy and ministered especially to poor communities on the outskirts. Back then, Prevost would make the arduous drive to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba himself.

Before leaving, Leo presided over a special prayer at the Cathedral of St. Mary, where he served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 until 2023. He referred to the “darkness” enveloping Peru, a reference to rising crime that has battered Peruvians at a time of political instability.

Over the past five years, the homicide rate has nearly doubled, from 5.8 to 10.7 per 100,000 people. Reports of extortion rose from 2,421 in 2019 to 26,734 in 2025, according to official data.

“We feel threatened by the uncertainty of widespread violence and by the unspeakable suffering that continues to afflict so many of our brothers and sisters,” Leo said in the cathedral. “Yet, despite this darkness, which so often dims our hope and weakens our trust, God’s gift continues to shine before our eyes.”

Rising crime has disrupted Peruvians' daily lives to the extent that security has become the primary concern and influenced the outcome of the last presidential election.

Conservative Keiko Fujimori took office in July after promising to combat crime. Since then, she has declared states of emergency, including in Lima in August and in September in prisons housing inmates linked to criminal organizations.

Fujimori has also sought to strengthen ties with the United States by bringing Peru into the “Shield of the Americas,” a U.S.-led coalition of like-minded countries in the region formed to carry out joint military operations against drug cartels.

Just before Leo began his visit, Fujimori visited the maximum-security megaprison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT . During her campaign, she had expressed interest in building a similar facility.

Leo spoke especially of violence against women in one of his first encounters in Lima, denouncing the “machismo” in Peruvian culture and demanding that women be respected and protected from rising rates of feminicides.

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. The annual number of women killed because of their gender rose by 44% over that period.

Peru is also grappling with illegal gold mining and is the second-largest producer of coca leaves — the raw material for cocaine — trailing only Colombia, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Leo, who arrived to a joyous welcome in Chiclayo on Friday, is expected to address those scourges when he meets with Amazonian and Indigenous peoples on Sunday. He will celebrate a final Mass in Lima on Monday before returning to the Vatican.

Suarez contributed from Lima, Peru.

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