The Peruvian city of Callao announced an unusual tribute to Pope Leo XIV ahead of his November visit to the South American country: the largest statue of the pontiff in the world. Source: OSV News.
The 14-metre-tall statue of Pope Leo will grace a seafront park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Callao, located in the northern suburbs of Lima, the national capital.
“This work will be a source of pride for all the residents of Callao and a new space for us to come together as a community,” Mayor César Pérez said, according to the newspaper El Comercio.
“May the (statue) be a place that transmits faith, hope, and unity, and may this sculpture become a symbol that accompanies families.”
The mayor added that the local government donated park space, while a private firm provided funding for the statue.
The steel and marble statue of the pope with open arms is expected to be installed prior to his arrival in Peru on November 11.
Mr Pérez expressed hope that the statue would be inaugurated during the pope’s five-day trip to Peru. The visit – a homecoming for Pope Leo, who became a Peruvian citizen while serving as bishop of Chiclayo – will cap an 11-day journey to South America, which includes visits to Uruguay and Argentina.
Pope Leo is expected to arrive in Callao, site of Lima’s international airport, but not spend time in the city, despite serving as apostolic administrator of the Callao Diocese for 13 months, ending in May 2021.
Mr Pérez remembered Pope Leo driving some 765 kilometres from Chiclayo to Callao during the COVID-19 pandemic, where, “he oversaw food donations, helping those who have the least and need the most. That was Robert Prevost’s way of working when he was administrator of the Callao Diocese.”
The statue being built in Callao reflects the stature and popularity of Pope Leo in his adopted home country, where Catholic observers say he has emerged as the world’s most prominent Peruvian since his May 2025 election.
Observers say excitement for the papal trip is especially strong in northern Peru, where Pope Leo served as an Augustinian missionary and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
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Peruvian city to unveil the world’s tallest statue of Pope Leo for trip to South America (By David Agren, OSV News)
