The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Carlos Pareja, indicated that Pope Leo XIV would arrive in the country at the end of the year, possibly in November, where he would visit Chiclayo, Lima, and one more city that would be in the Amazon region.
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“We do not have the exact date for the Pope’s visit to Peru, but it is assumed to be before the end of the year, probably November. Also, he will not only visit Peru but will go to two other countries in the region, that is what we have been informed. I do not know which the other two countries are, but they are three in the region,” Pareja explained in statements to the Peruvian broadcaster RPP.
“We expect him to stay at least three days because he wants to visit three cities: Chiclayo, Lima, and one more, perhaps the Amazon because it is close to this area, but it is not specified precisely,” he said. Pareja recalled that Leo XIV is closely linked to the first of these locations, where he became a bishop.
The head of Peruvian diplomacy said that President José María Balcázar will travel to the Vatican to make the formal invitation for this visit to Peru, so they will be requesting the corresponding permission from Congress so that the Head of State can leave the national territory.
According to Pareja, Balcázar plans to meet with Leo XIV at the Vatican on June 18. He noted that the Vatican’s invitation was originally sent to José Jerí before he left the Presidency following a vote of no confidence in mid-February.
“There is a date and time for President Balcázar to be at the Vatican, which is June 18, but we have not yet made the request to Congress because we are in the process of the Sunday elections,” he said, referring to the presidential runoff between Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez on June 7.
“The purpose of the trip is to formally, officially invite the Pope. The Pope has expressed that yes, he will receive the president, and not only will he receive him, but he has extended an invitation for him to go,” he said.
The announcement of the possible visit to Peru was made last February by then Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela, who said that Leo XIV had been officially invited by the authorities of Jerí’s government.
Days later, the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP) assured that the visit was being scheduled for November or early December of this year, and that the trip was “80% confirmed,” since the pontiff “wants to visit Peru because he loves Peru and has great gratitude towards the country,” according to the CEP president, Carlos García, at that time.
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Although Pope Robert Prevost was born in the American city of Chicago in 1955, he later served for more than two decades in pastoral work in Peru, whose nationality he also holds and where he is considered “the Peruvian Pope” after having served as bishop of Chiclayo, about 760 kilometers north of Lima.
Last week, The Associated Press agency highlighted that political and religious authorities from Argentina and Uruguay stated that it is very likely that Pope Leo XIV will visit both countries before the end of the year.
Argentine President Javier Milei said that “the management of Foreign Minister (Pablo) Quirno allowed closing positions and it is very likely that we will have the pleasure of having him here in Argentina in November,” in statements to Radio Mitre.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, told the news portal Infobae that “there are many possibilities that Pope Leo will come,” although he urged to be “prudent” and wait for confirmation from the Holy See.
If it materializes, the visit would have special significance, said the newspaper El Cronista: it would be the first time a Pontiff visits Argentina in 40 years and would also fulfill something that his predecessor, the Argentine Francisco, never managed to do in his 12 years of pontificate.
For his part, the Cardinal of Montevideo, Daniel Sturlam, said that “everything indicates that in November we will have the Pope among us,” but qualified that the official confirmation will come from the government and the Apostolic Nunciature of Uruguay. The Uruguayan Episcopal Conference had referred to this same eventuality two days earlier in a statement.
According to the Uruguayan newspaper El País, the Pope did not give an exact date nor specify the time he will stay in Uruguay, although it would be in November. His destinations would include Montevideo, Salto, and a northern department that has not yet been announced.
In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV expressed to a group of journalists his desire to tour several Latin American countries. “Of course. I would love to travel. The problem is the schedule with all the commitments, but yes, to Fatima, to Guadalupe as well, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina also pending, going to Peru, of course,” he said.
