South America trip: Pope's application for naturalization in Peru now cultural heritage

In 2015 it was still an ordinary piece of paper. Now the letter from today's Pope Leo XIV is said to have greater value. Today he returns to his old diocese for the first time.

Pope Leo XIV is in his second home Peru until Monday.

Lima. The handwritten application of today's Pope Leo XIV for naturalization in Peru has been declared a national cultural heritage in the South American country. This was decided by the Ministry of Culture in Lima on the occasion of the return of the head of the Catholic Church to his second home. Since his arrival on Wednesday evening, the American native has been celebrated by several million people on the streets of Peru's capital.

In 2015, Augustinian Father Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago applied for Peruvian citizenship in order to become bishop of the large city of Chiclayo in the north of the country. He had previously worked as a missionary in the South American country for more than a decade. The letter written at the time on stationery from the Diocese of Chiclayo also bears his signature and fingerprint.

Pope Leo - formerly known as "Padre Roberto" - is staying in Peru until Monday as part of a twelve-day trip to South America. Today he returns to Chiclayo for the first time since his election as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in May last year.