Catholic News
The pope ended a day in northern Peru that began with a Marian crowning in Chiclayo and a Mass in the Andean highlands with a prayer meeting at the shrine where St. Turibius died.
A sister serving a remote Quechua-speaking parish in the Diocese of Chiclayo recalls the bishop who came to the Andes and what he told her after her testimony.
"It has been an immense emotion" to see Pope Leo XIV again, said Mother María Priscila, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, Word and Victim who serves in Cañaris, a Quechua-speaking town in the Andes in the Diocese of Chiclayo.
Her congregation works in the most remote and isolated places in Peru and elsewhere in Latin America. Besides being superior of her community, she is in charge of St. John the Baptist Parish in Cañaris because of a shortage of priests.
She spoke to EWTN News after the pope's prayer meeting on Nov. 14 at the shrine of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña, which closed the jubilee year for the 300th anniversary of the saint's canonization.
"I felt a great deal of emotion, because I was fortunate enough to work in Incahuasi, and that is where we had his first visit [in 2014], when he was appointed apostolic administrator. We welcomed him with great emotion and great joy," she said.
Incahuasi, another Andean town, was a place the pope had wanted to visit, but it was dropped from the itinerary because it did not meet minimum technical requirements.
"Seeing him now as Holy Father has been an immense emotion, because he is very well known to me: We have shared time on several occasions, on his pastoral tours, on missions with the communities," she said.
Asked what the pope told her after she gave her testimony at the meeting, she said he asked where she was working now. "He congratulated me and told me to keep going, working in those communities, which need it so much."
In her testimony, the sister recalled how often Robert Prevost had come to the diocese's high Andean region despite the rugged terrain, speaking about Christ "to so many boys and girls, as Jesus did with his disciples," and sharing "such human moments, with such simplicity and humanity."
"Those gestures have filled our hearts with the joy of living in a Church that is close to people, that cares about the evangelization of everyone," she said.
Abel Camasca contributed to this report from Zaña, Peru.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
At the shrine where St. Turibius died, the pope offered his "affection and closeness" to Peruvians of African descent and lamented crime and extortion in his former diocese.
ZAÑA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday acknowledged the suffering of Afro-Peruvians during a visit to a city that is a historic center of that community.
"Zaña also preserves the memory of generations of Africans who were torn from their homes and subjected to slavery. Many endured great suffering and humiliation," the pope said. "Dear brothers and sisters of African descent, today I want to express my affection and closeness to you."
The pope spoke Saturday, Nov. 14, at the shrine of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo at Zaña, in the Diocese of Chiclayo, which the future pope led as bishop from 2015 to 2023.
Leo's remarks came after a series of testimonies, including one from a representative of the Afro-Peruvian community.
"Our history has known the pain of exclusion, but also a profound capacity to endure, rise again and celebrate life," said Analí Montenegro Mendoza, who represented the Afro-Peruvian community of the Diocese of Chiclayo. "Holy Father, we hope and pray for a Church where no one feels inferior because of their skin color, history or culture."
Leo encouraged Afro-Peruvians to follow the example of perseverance set by St. Martin de Porres, born in Lima in 1579 and barred from full membership in a religious order because of his African ancestry, but who was eventually canonized as a saint.
The pope also lamented that "many families in this region suffer because of crime, extortion and insecurity. I am pained at the thought of those who live in fear, of people whose honest labor is under threat and of those who continue to experience discrimination."
Violent crime is an urgent problem across Latin America and the Caribbean, which according to the United Nations has the world's highest homicide rate, four times the global average.
Leo was speaking at a prayer meeting marking the end of a jubilee year celebrating the 300th anniversary of the canonization of St. Turibius, a Spanish missionary who served as archbishop of Lima from 1581 until his death in 1606 and who promoted the use of the Indigenous languages Quechua and Aymara in evangelization.
Earlier this month, the saint was officially recognized by the Peruvian state as the patron of human rights in the country and a pioneer in the defense of human dignity.
The pope has a particular devotion to St. Turibius. The day before he became the bishop of Chiclayo, then-Father Robert Prevost spent the night in prayer before a relic of the saint in Zaña, an episode that he recalled on Saturday.
Abel Camasca contributed to this report from Zaña, Peru.
The Holy Father spent time at the seat of his former diocese, celebrated Mass, and met with local Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 14 visited his former cathedral in Peru, participated in a Marian crowning ceremony, celebrated Mass in the Santa Cruz province, and met with local Catholics during a packed Saturday in his adopted country.
The pope held a papal Mass in Santa Cruz de Succhabamba and later returned to Chiclayo to participate in a prayer vigil marking the closing of the jubilee year of the canonization of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo.
Here are photos of the pope's activities on Nov. 14:
The pope ended a day in northern Peru that began with a Marian crowning in Chiclayo and a Mass in the Andean highlands with a prayer meeting at the shrine where St. Turibius died.
The pontiff encouraged prayer and peaceful action in seeking social justice.
SANTA CRUZ DE SUCCHABAMBA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV, who served for two decades as a missionary in Peru, traveled on Saturday to a remote mountain corner of his former diocese and paid tribute to the missionaries who had evangelized the land for centuries.
"Time and again, they came without provisions or letters of recommendation, to proclaim the name of Jesus and spread devotion to the Lord of Miracles of Andabamba and his Immaculate Mother," the pope said in his homily at an open-air Mass, referring to the two parishes in Santa Cruz, a town in the Andean highlands.
Leo arrived on Saturday by military helicopter, but he acknowledged that much of the congregation had made a more difficult trip.
"Many of you have traveled long distances to be here. Some have come from rural communities, leaving behind your families, farms and daily occupations. The journey you made is not only a passage along difficult roads, but also a pilgrimage of faith," the pope said.
More than 20,000 people attended the Mass on the town's esplanade, according to local authorities.
Leo praised the popular piety of the high Andes, where he said faith "has grown simply and genuinely, founded on the daily living of Gospel values and expressed in traditions and festivals that bring peoples and generations together."
Speaking to a largely poor congregation, the pope stressed "how important it is to pray without ever losing heart," but he said that did not preclude taking action to relieve hardship and injustice. He specifically mentioned the problems of economically driven emigration from rural areas and inequities in the distribution of natural resources.
"In the face of so many difficulties, we may be tempted to give in to discouragement, resentment or even violence. Yet this will never lead to progress and peace," Leo said.
"Selfishness, injustice and evil are not overcome by brutality, but by prayer, patience and perseverance in denouncing what is wrong, by making our pleas with determination and working diligently to bring about the necessary changes, while never losing trust in God."
During his time as a missionary in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, the future pope witnessed and protested against both left-wing terrorism and right-wing counterterrorism, a conflict whose legacy the country is still reckoning with today.
"There is a close relationship between faith, prayer and action. Where there is faith, there is prayer; and where there is prayer, there is the capacity to commit oneself to others," Leo said.
In particular, he commended "those who, with ingenuity and an entrepreneurial spirit, strive to provide people with dignified jobs: farmers, shopkeepers, small business owners and so many others who, here day after day, put their God-given talents at the service of their communities."
Later in the day, Leo was scheduled to address a prayer meeting near Chiclayo at the shrine of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, a Spanish missionary who served as archbishop of Lima from 1581 until his death in 1606.
The pope on Nov. 14 said Holy Mass in the small town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba east of Chiclayo, where he used to serve as bishop.
Jonathan Roumie and "The Chosen" cast reflected on the spiritual impact of Season 6, sharing lessons on suffering, forgiveness, and redemption.
The first three episodes of the highly anticipated sixth season of the hit series "The Chosen" will be released on Prime Video on Nov. 15.
The upcoming season focuses on the 24 hours of Good Friday — culminating in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Season 6 of "The Chosen" will include six episodes — the first three of which will debut on Nov. 15 on Prime Video, followed by the release of a weekly episode through Dec. 6. The season finale will be a stand-alone theatrical release on March 12, 2027.
Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the series, has spoken openly about how difficult filming the sixth season was and the impact it had on him, not only professionally but also personally.
"Portraying Jesus' suffering has given me deeper insights into the concept of redemptive suffering and how do you offer your suffering up so that God can use it in a way that can save souls," he told EWTN News in an interview.
Roumie shared that portraying this difficult moment during Jesus' life on Earth has given him "a little more insight" into questions like "How do you find grace in suffering? Where do you get it from?"
"I don't claim to know how all of it works, or what all of it means, or that I even understand it really completely, but I think I've been given at least an opportunity to have a deeper insight to it, because of how it's changed how I see the cross now and how I experience the cross just as a Catholic," he said.
During the filming of Season 6, Roumie said he relied heavily on prayer to get him through the tough moments.
"Prayer became a sort of a constant conversation throughout the process because of the difficulties of filming and the challenges and the physical, kind of, what I refer to as these micro mortifications that persisted for weeks and then over the course of months at a time," he recalled.
While the sufferings Roumie experienced were an "indefinably modest version comparative to what he [Jesus] actually went through," the actor said "for me it was enough."
He added: "It was a continual dialogue of just 'help me get through this. This is for you. It's for the salvation of souls. I give it back to you … Help me figure out how to understand the scene. Help me figure out how to have these conversations and ultimately let your heart and voice and face and spirit shine through so that I am not there but you are there and you are present in the scene and I'm just a vessel for that.'"
Bringing Judas and Pontius Pilate to life
The heaviness and difficulties of Season 6 were not only felt by Roumie.
Luke Dimyan, who plays Judas, and Andrew James Allen, who plays Pontius Pilate, also felt the immense weight through the portrayals of their characters.
Allen described Pontius Pilate in Season 6 as having an "internal conflict."
"We see him in a very different place than he started," he said. "In the beginning, he's very, sort of, light and funny and petulant and then as the weight on his shoulders grows, he's more and more conflicted about what to do."
Allen pointed out that in many depictions of Pontius Pilate in media he's typically "in the background a bit and he comes into this one big scene and then kind of leaves." However, in "The Chosen," Allen said he believes audiences get to see Pontius Pilate "as a human being for the first time."
"I hope the audience sees that he's a real person and that he's actually in some ways going through the same thing that Jesus is," he added. "He is being persecuted by the people around him and by the people of Judea in the same way, not to the same degree, but in his own way, he's suffering."
Dimyan echoed similar sentiments regarding his character, saying he hopes Judas' story will leave audiences with "a sense of understanding and with patience, not only with others but with themselves."
"I understand how people easily connect to Judas with the idea of betrayal. It's very common. It's very easy," he said. "But I hope, especially with this his final chapter, that they see it's less so much about the betrayal and it's more about learning and hopefully knowing to forgive yourself because that's what ultimately leads to redemption."
He added: "I'll be surprised to meet a singular person on this earth who hasn't made a mistake that they regret. But it's knowing that that mistake doesn't have to define you forever, which I hope that's what they take away from Judas. That even though you have done something horrible and you've lost your way and you do truly regret your decision that you're not past being forgiven."
Dimyan then posed a question that he hopes audiences will consider when watching Judas' final moments: "Is there a doubt in anyone's mind that if he [Judas] had waited, that if he had lasted three days, and asked forgiveness from Jesus, that Jesus wouldn't forgive him?"
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
A bill introduced in Congress on Nov. 5 would require abortion providers to facilitate and ensure the burial or cremation of the remains of babies that are aborted by abortion medications.
Introduced by Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-South Carolina, the bill would require abortion drugs to have a warning against flushing remains of unborn babies down the toilet. Abortion drug providers would be required to include with the medication catch kits for fetal remains.
Documentation provided with the medication's accompanying catch kit would include the nearest abortion facility or other facility equipped to receive aborted human fetal remains and solid medical waste.
The bill states that "Clear and conspicuous packaging notices on chemical abortion drugs can reduce undignified disposition of aborted human fetal remains and improper disposal of solid medical waste."
"If at-home abortion pills can be provided under current law, then I am going to make sure they are regulated responsibly," Biggs said in a statement.
"Abortion pill providers have allowed countless women to abort their children at home without advising on proper disposal, leading to fetal, medical, and other biological remains entering our sewer systems."
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas.
The requirement would only apply to the intentional ending of pregnancy; the bill specifies that it would not apply to live births, miscarriage care, or ectopic or molar pregnancies.
National Prayer Vigil for Life set for Jan. 21
The U.S. Catholic bishops announced plans for the annual national prayer vigil for life, set for Jan. 21, the eve of the March for Life.
Hosted each year at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the vigil is focused on praying "for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life," according to the bishops' announcement.
Mass will begin at 5 p.m. local time on Jan. 21, with Bishop Daniel Thomas, who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' pro-life committee, giving the homily.
There will also be a 7 p.m. Holy Hour in the lower level of the basilica. The vigil will conclude at 8 a.m. the following day with a closing Mass.
Both the vigil's opening and closing Masses will be broadcast by EWTN.
New York court rules in favor of abortion pill reversal
A New York court ruled in favor of pro-life pregnancy centers' right to tell clients about abortion pill reversals.
The New York federal district court ruled on Nov. 6 to protect speech about the effectiveness of abortion pill reversal through the use of the naturally occurring hormone progesterone.
In 2024 New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against pregnancy centers in New York for promoting abortion pill reversal, launching the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. James case.
Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Gabriella McIntyre welcomed the decision, saying: "The district court was right to allow women to hear about this option and make that choice."
"Many women regret their abortions, and some change their minds after taking the first abortion drug and want to try to save their unborn babies' lives," McIntyre said. "The New York attorney general has desperately tried to censor and keep women in the dark about abortion-pill reversal, but they have every right to be empowered with information about this potentially life-saving option."
DOJ to take over Texas Planned Parenthood lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department plans to join a state lawsuit against Planned Parenthood over $10 million in alleged Medicaid fraud.
The DOJ's Nov. 6 announcement that it would intervene came on the heels of the election of a new attorney general in the state, Democrat Nathan Johnson.
The lawsuit accuses Planned Parenthood of improperly billing Medicaid when Texas had acted to remove it as a Medicaid provider. The lawsuit seeks more than $1.8 billion. The lawsuit is proposed to go to trial in April 2027.
The Holy Father participated in the crowning of a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Chiclayo.
Pope Leo XIV returned to his former cathedral in Peru on Nov. 14 to take part in the crowning of a Marian statue while urging Catholics to pursue "a world marked by love and compassion."
"I give thanks to God for being here with you today to celebrate
our faith as we have so often done, and in the same cathedral in which I began my episcopal ministry," the pope told Catholics at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Chiclayo.
In crowning the statue of the Blessed Mother, the Holy Father said the gesture "is intended to symbolize the tribute of gratitude and filial love offered to her by the pope, together with you and the whole Church."
Addressing the Chiclayo Diocese — which Leo led as Bishop Robert Prevost for years before being appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome — the pope described devotion to the Immaculate Virgin as "part of the Christian roots that shape your identity and strengthen your faith."
"With loving care, the Mother of God has accompanied this people for generations and continues to accompany you today," he said. "Trusting in her intercession and protection, I invite you to keep walking forward together, as one family of God."
'Still the same Father Prevost we've always known'
The streets around the cathedral were filled with Catholics who turned out to witness the ceremony, which was richly significant as the return of a former bishop, now the Vicar of Christ, to his onetime cathedral.
The cathedral itself has a rich history: It was built over the course of roughly 70 years, starting in 1869 before halting in 1871. Construction resumed in 1928 and was finished in 1939. It was notably designed by Gustave Eiffel, the namesake of the world-famous tower in Paris.
One attendee, Rosa Valdivia, told EWTN News that she knew Pope Leo XIV when he served as bishop of the diocese.
"He was a mentor to my son, who is also part of the church community here at the Chiclayo Cathedral," she said.
"They had a good relationship; I knew him personally. He was very kind and very sensitive — I had the chance to get to know him."
She said witnessing her former bishop become pope was "truly moving." She described him as "one of our own from Chiclayo."
Though he has risen to the Chair of Saint Peter, "he still has that same simplicity and sensitivity," Valdivia said.
"He's still the same Father Robert Prevost we've always known," she said.
Another attendee, Esperanza de Rellido Solano, was serving as a volunteer doctor for the event. She said people in Chiclayo were "very happy" with the pope's visit.
"We are looking forward to all the upcoming events with great joy and faith, and we hope that everything continues to go as smoothly as it has so far," she said.
Echoing Valdivia's remarks, Solano said Leo "is still the same person we once knew — very compassionate and very humble."
"Just seeing him inspires a sense of love for humanity and for our neighbors," she said.
Addressing Mary at the ceremony, Leo told the Blessed Mother: "I lift my gaze and my heart today with filial affection."
"At your side I learned to be the shepherd of Chiclayo," he said. "You accompanied me through its towns and cities. You taught me to meet its people and to be attentive to their needs, as you did at the Wedding Feast of Cana."
"To your Immaculate Heart I entrust today my life and my ministry as Successor of Peter," he said.
