Pope crosses Peru in the finale of a trip home to visit flock high in Andes and deep in Amazon

Pope Leo XIV travelled across Peru, visiting Cusco in the Andes and Pucallpa in the Amazon, with Indigenous rights and environmental protection at the centre of his trip. His message echoed Pope Francis’s teaching that caring for vulnerable people is linked to caring for the natural world.

In Cusco, 3,400 metres above sea level, Leo praised religious processions and festivals for building community and passing on faith to younger generations. Crowds gathered despite drizzling rain, while the 71-year-old pope continued the longest trip of his pontificate as he recovered from lung cancer surgery. In Pucallpa, a city of 434,000, he was expected to address illegal gold mining, deforestation and threats to Indigenous communities.