Chiclayo officials expected up to one million people at Pope Leo XIV’s Friday outdoor Mass, Reuters reported, as worshippers gathered in the city where he once served as bishop.
Some worshippers camped at Pampas de Pimentel, the site of the service. Reuters reported that Maria Esther Chozo Reyes, 76, had traveled from Lima by bus for 12 hours before arriving Thursday. She told Reuters, “We really need his blessing.”
Reuters estimated that public events during Leo’s South America tour had drawn 10 million people by Friday. Reuters reported that Peru drew the largest crowds of Leo’s papacy so far, including some three million people in Lima on Wednesday.
Leo traveled from Lima to Chiclayo on Friday morning and was scheduled to remain in the area through Sunday for eight events, Reuters reported. The program included a private dinner with priests who had served under him as bishop.
The Holy See Press Office itinerary sets the tour’s dates from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17. EconoTimes previously covered the 10-city schedule.
