Treasure of Latin American Church: Saints, Blesseds recalled by Pope in Peru

During his Apostolic Journey to Peru, Pope Leo XIV recalls the Saints and Blesseds who helped shape the country’s spiritual heritage, as their holiness was lived in tireless service to those most in need.

Pope Leo XIV at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Lima, Peru (VATICAN MEDIA)

Many holy men and women of God have helped shape the cultural, human, and spiritual identity of Peru, which Pope Leo XIV visits as part of his Apostolic Journey to Latin America.

Many are depicted in the logo for the Pope’s visit. Together, they form a rich heritage of figures who open “the heart,” as the motto puts it, to evangelization and a missionary zeal that made charity toward those in need a priority.

Rose of Lima: First person from New World to be canonized

In his first remarks in the capital, Lima, during his meeting with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the Gran Teatro Nacional, the Pope recalled St. Rose of Lima, the first person from the New World to be canonized and patron saint of Peru, all of Latin America, the Indies, and the Philippines.

Speaking to authorities and the diplomatic corps for his first public address in Peru, Pope Leo highlights his long-held roots to the country and urges leaders to help protect the ...

Born in 1586, she was the tenth of thirteen children in the Flores de Oliva family, Spanish nobles who had settled in the country.

In her mother’s home, she set up a kind of shelter for those in need, caring for abandoned children and elderly people, especially those of Indigenous origin. From childhood, she wanted to consecrate herself to God, but she remained “a virgin living in the world.”

As a Dominican tertiary, she withdrew to a cell measuring just a few square meters, built in the garden of her home, where she spent much of her day praying, particularly for the conversion of the Spanish and the evangelization of Indigenous peoples.

She is said to have practiced mortification and bodily penance of every kind, and many conversions and miracles are also attributed to her. She died on August 23, 1617, and was canonized in 1671.

Vatican News
Source: vaticannews.va/en