Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass near the Pampas de Pimentel, a coastal town outside Chiclayo city, in northern Peru, on Friday before a crowd the Chiclayo city government estimated at tens of thousands. It was his first return as pontiff to the diocese he led as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

The Chicago-born pope, who took Peruvian citizenship in 2015, flew north from Lima two days after arriving in the capital, according to the Holy See Press Office's published itinerary. Residents lined the route from the airport into the city centre. Many waved Peruvian and Vatican flags and held banners describing him as 'our bishop'.

The Archdiocese of Lima and the Diocese of Chiclayo had both prepared for a visit that Peruvian media had cast as a national celebration rather than a conventional papal tour. Leo spent two decades in Peru as an Augustinian missionary, teacher and diocesan administrator before his election in May 2025.

In his homily, he spoke of the poor and of migrants. He also thanked the people of Lambayeque for teaching him, as he put it, how to be a pastor.

The Lambayeque regional government said it had declared Friday a non-working day in Chiclayo to allow residents to attend. Street vendors sold pope-themed T-shirts, rosaries and the region's King Kong caramel pastries.

Hotels across the city reported they were fully booked, according to the local chamber of commerce. The Peruvian National Police deployed thousands of officers along the papal route.

The Holy See Press Office said the pope would return to Lima for further engagements before the trip ends. The visit is Leo's first to Latin America as pontiff. It has been watched closely in the region for signs of how the first pope from the Americas since Francis will address migration, inequality and the Church's declining congregations.