Pope Leo returns to what is expected to be a national party in his second homeland of Peru

LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV headed to his second homeland on Wednesday, returning to the place that he credits with teaching him how to be a pastor and where a nationwide party awaits to welcome their beloved “Padre Robert” home.

The visit to Peru marks the final leg of Leo’s three-nation South America tour and its emotional highlight, given the more than two decades that the former Robert Prevost spent in Peru as a missionary priest and later bishop. As a dual citizen of the United States and Peru, he’s the first pope from each country.

“My heart is so excited that it makes me want to cry with joy,” said Zuly Castillo, who served as Leo’s secretary when he was bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo near the Pacific Coast. Across from her office, a life-size cardboard cutout of the pope now welcomes visitors to his former residence.

“Peru is the crown of the trip, the homecoming of the first Peruvian pope, no matter where he was born,” said Gustavo Morello, an associate professor of sociology at Boston College and the author of “Lived Religion in Latin America.”

“This is a return to his origins without any…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world