'For us, the Pope is Peruvian': Andean nation cheers election of Pope Leo XIV

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

LIMA (Reuters) - In the Peruvian coastal city of Chiclayo, some 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) from new Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago, Catholics took to the streets and church bells rang on Thursday to celebrate the election of the former missionary who they embrace as one of their own.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, chosen as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is a dual U.S.-Peruvian citizen who worked for decades in the north of Peru, first as a missionary and later as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.