Pope Leo XIV is Peruvian

His Holiness, Leo XIV, is the Augustinian Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago, United States of America. He was Bishop of Chiclayo, a city in northern Peru, and lived among us for many years.

This should be the best moment for our relationship with the Vatican. Everything is in Peru's court.‘

This is the text I wrote as soon as the protodeacon, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, told the world ’Habemus papam' (We have a Pope) and pronounced the name of the chosen Supreme Pontiff, and I will elaborate on it.

The new Holy Father is indeed Peruvian, and we do not say this solely because of his identification with the land where he has exercised his pastoral ministry.

The 1993 Constitution states in its second and final paragraph: ‘Those who acquire nationality by naturalisation or by choice are also Peruvian, provided they reside in Peru.’

The then Cardinal Prevost came to Peru and exercised his apostolate in the communities of the north of our country at a truly complex time for our homeland. His identification with Peru was total, and that is why he expressed his desire to become Peruvian. He completed all the necessary procedures for such cases and was finally naturalised, which is the technical and legal term for his connection with Peru. He is as Peruvian as those born in Peru, and within that framework, all his rights and duties are fully valid and in force.

The Peruvian identity of the new Pope of the Church should, in my opinion, be the most important factor in strengthening bilateral relations between Peru and the Holy See, especially in light of the Agreement or Concordat that we have had with the Vatican since 19 July 1980.

When I was foreign minister, I went to the Episcopate and held a meeting with all the bishops of Peru at their headquarters in Jesús María as part of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference that was taking place in August 2022, and then I received the president of the Conference in my office in Torre Tagle, listening to him from beginning to end. The concerns of the bishops, and of the Church in general, should be addressed by the Peruvian government, which, in my opinion, should strive to strengthen the best and closest bilateral relations, considering that Vatican diplomacy is one of the most celebrated and renowned in the world, but above all because its ties with our country are historic, being truly intrinsic to our process as a nation since they arrived in America following the discovery in 1492.

Given the above, they are extremely relevant to Peru's interests, considering our very poor international standing.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Mackay, former Foreign Minister of Peru and internationalist

Article previously published in the newspaper Expreso.