Pope Leo XIV deplores the ‘great suffering and humiliation’ of Afro-Peruvians

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.

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