Pope Leo XIV has travelled by helicopter to celebrate Mass with a community in the Andes mountains that he used to visit when he was bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo. Source: OSV News.
“We are here in Santa Cruz, we are in the Department of Cajamarca; we are in the mountain range of the Peruvian Andes, amid these beautiful hills, with ravines and fertile valleys, in a land with Andean roots, where the Inca Empire flourished and which is the cradle of a profound Christian faith,” Pope Leo said on Saturday in Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, where he celebrated a votive Mass of the Mercy of God.
“I therefore wish to honour with gratitude the memory of the many missionary priests and men and women religious who, over the centuries, have worked generously and devotedly to spread the Kingdom of God on these mountains.”
The Pope, who had lung cancer surgery on October 13, appeared happy upon his arrival in Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, a town which sits at an elevation of nearly 2100 metres above sea level.
The Pope began the day with the rite of the coronation of the Immaculate Virgin in Chiclayo’s Cathedral of Saint Mary before boarding a military helicopter to travel 150 kilometres to the town in northern Peru.
Pope Leo made a quick stop at the parish church of the Immaculate Conception, where he knelt in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, prayed before the image of El Señor del Costado (the Lord of the Side or the Lord of the Wounded Side), a local devotion, and met with people with disabilities.
The Pope told those present that his return to Santa Cruz was “a great dream that the Lord has made possible.”
People waved flags and cheered when Pope Leo finally arrived by Popemobile in the esplanade of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, where more than 20,000 people were gathered.
“Many of you have travelled long distances to be here. Some have come from rural communities, leaving behind your families, farms and daily occupations,” Pope Leo told them.
“The journey you made is not only a passage along difficult roads, but also a pilgrimage of faith,” he added. “Their only desire is this: to encounter Jesus.”
When Pope Leo served as bishop of Chiclayo, he would visit Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, sometimes driving himself up winding mountain roads to reach the remote community that was part of his diocese.
FULL STORY
Pope Leo flies in helicopter to Peruvian Andes, honors missionaries who trekked there for centuries (By Courtney Mares, OSV News)
