CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo XIV ended his first day back in his former diocese on Friday, Nov. 13, at dinner with about 140 of its priests, one of whom said the pope "was very happy" to be with them.
"There were about 140 of us priests. He arrived very cheerful and told us that he was very glad to be with us, that he wanted to see us," Father Jorge Millán told EWTN News. Millán was pastor of Chiclayo's cathedral when Leo was bishop of the diocese.
The dinner took place at the Colegio Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Chiclayo.
'A beautiful gesture'
Millán said the Holy Father made "a beautiful gesture" toward the priests at the end of the meal.
"Instead of us asking him for a photo, he said, 'I want to take a photo with each one of you.' And one by one we went up, and he greeted us with great patience and affection, with a welcoming look, recognizing us by our names. He hasn't lost his memory. He was very content and happy," the priest said.
Leo "wanted to stay, I think," Millán added, "but we were happy with this gesture, because he was the one who asked us to have dinner with him."
'A task'
According to Millán, the pope encouraged the priests "to keep the parishes alive, to love one another very much, to stay together and to always work for evangelization and for the love of God."
A cake served at the dinner showed the pope beside Chiclayo's cathedral with the inscription "Leo XIV, Messenger of Peace."
It was "a very familial dinner, very much among brothers," Millán said. "And of course we had to remind ourselves that the one there with us is the pope, nothing more and nothing less."
Leo led the Diocese of Chiclayo as bishop from 2015 to 2023. Earlier on Friday, he celebrated Mass for about 500,000 people in the Pampas de Pimentel, crowned the image of Our Lady of Peace at her shrine and addressed students and professors at Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, he is scheduled to crown the image of the Immaculate Virgin at Chiclayo's cathedral, celebrate Mass in Santa Cruz de Succhabamba in the Cajamarca region and close the jubilee year of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
