Pope Leo thanks God as 1.5 million cheer in Peru city he served as bishop

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CHICLAYO, Peru - Pope Leo held the central event of his 12-day South America tour on Friday, an outdoor Mass in northern Peru where he told a vast crowd of people who once knew…

CHICLAYO, Peru - Pope Leo held the central event of his 12-day South America tour on Friday, an outdoor Mass in northern Peru where he told a vast crowd of people who once knew him as their bishop that he thanked God he was alive to see them.

People arrived on foot and in lines of vehicles at an arid field outside Chiclayo, a city 10,700 km (6,650 miles) from Rome, where the former Robert Prevost, elected leader of the Catholic Church last year, is still described as "Padre" (Father) or "Amigo" (Friend).

Cheers erupted as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile at the Pampas de Pimentel, a desert park west of Chiclayo, where people waved white-and-yellow Vatican flags and used umbrellas to guard against an intense Pacific coast sun.

Screams of "Pope Leo is here!" and "The pope is from Chiclayo!" echoed across the field.

In a sermon, Leo said it was a blessing to be in his adopted home exactly one month after he underwent lung cancer surgery, an operation many feared would force cancellation of his visit and which the pope told the crowd was a "time of trial."

"As I look at your faces, a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord arises in my heart for the blessing you have been and continue to be in my life," he said.

The Vatican estimated 1.5 million people gathered on the streets of Chiclayo and attended Mass to welcome Leo.

Leo, originally from Chicago, is visiting Peru on the emotional final leg of a three-nation tour. In just over a week in South America, Leo has drawn an estimated 12 million people to public events.

He declared on Wednesday that the country where he served as a missionary for about 20 years and as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023 was his homeland. Leo holds US and Peruvian citizenship.

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