Pope Leo Laments Violence in Peru During Visit to Former Diocese

Pope Leo XIV prayed Saturday for an end to the violence affecting Peru, addressing one of his adopted homeland’s most pressing concerns during visits to his former cathedral and a remote community in his former diocese.

At the cathedral in Chiclayo, where he served as bishop from 2014 to 2023, Leo entrusted his pontificate to the Virgin Mary in a special ceremony. He spoke of the “darkness” enveloping Peru, referring to rising crime amid political instability. He then traveled by helicopter to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, a community in lush green mountains 150 kilometers (93 miles) from central Chiclayo and 2,035 meters (6,675 feet) above sea level. The journey, he has said, reflects the belief that shepherds must reach the peripheries to minister to their flocks. The Rev. Kevin Noriega, who oversees pastoral services in the diocese, recalled before Mass that Leo, as bishop, had often made the difficult drive to the community himself in his pickup truck.

Crime has disrupted daily life in Peru, making security the top concern for many Peruvians and helping shape the outcome of the last presidential election. Official data cited in the reporting show the homicide rate has nearly doubled over the past five years, from 5.8 to 10.7 per 100,000 people. Reports of extortion rose from 2,421 in 2019 to 26,734 in 2025.

Conservative Keiko Fujimori took office in July after pledging to tackle crime. She has since declared states of emergency, including in Lima in August and in prisons holding inmates linked to criminal organizations in September. She has also moved to bring Peru into the “Shield of the Americas,” a U.S.-led regional coalition formed to conduct joint military operations against drug cartels. Shortly before Leo’s visit, Fujimori toured the maximum-security megaprison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a model she expressed interest in replicating during her campaign.

“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.”

In Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Leo returned to the impact of violence on the faithful. He acknowledged the temptation to answer injustice with violence but urged a different response. “Selfishness, injustice and evil are not overcome by brutality, but by prayer, patience and perseverance in denouncing what is wrong, by making our pleas with determination and working diligently to bring about the necessary changes,” he said.

During one of his first engagements in Lima, Leo condemned violence against women, denouncing “machismo” in Peruvian culture and calling for women to be respected and protected as gender-motivated homicides rise. Peru recorded 1,261 femicide victims between 2016 and 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics, and the annual number of women killed because of their gender rose 44% during that period. Speaking up for those at greatest risk of harm is a duty to protect people who cannot defend themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The country also faces widespread illegal gold mining and is the world’s second-largest producer of coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine, after Colombia, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Leo, who received a joyous welcome in Chiclayo on Friday, is expected to address those issues 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.

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