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.
Vatican News
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.
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.
Francis Solano: The “wonderworker” of Latin America
In Lima, while addressing Bishops in the chapel of the Archbishop’s Palace, Pope Leo XIV recalled St. Francis Solano, patron saint of the city and of many other places in the Americas, from Santiago, Chile, to Havana, Cuba.
Born in Montilla, Spain, in 1549, he entered the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor at the age of twenty. In 1589, he set out for South America, driven by a desire to evangelize Indigenous peoples.
After a long and difficult journey, he reached Tucumán, in present-day Argentina, where he carried out intensive missionary work for eight years. He learned several Indigenous languages, including Quechua, Guaraní, and Tonokoté, so that he could communicate directly with local communities.
Tradition attributes numerous miracles and healings to him, earning him the title “wonderworker of the New World.”
In 1598, he was transferred to Peru, where he continued his work of evangelization in Trujillo and Lima, devoting himself especially to preaching and caring for the poor and the sick.
He died in the capital on July 14, 1610, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 27, 1726.
Martin de Porres: Challenge of being born out of wedlock and of mixed ancestry
Pope St. John XXIII canonized St. Martin de Porres on May 6, 1962. Born in Lima on December 9, 1579, the religious brother, whom Pope Leo XIV recalled during his Apostolic Journey, experienced the difficulties associated with being born out of wedlock and of mixed ancestry.
He was admitted to the Dominican Order as a tertiary and learned the art of medicine, which he later practiced with great dedication for the poor of the Peruvian capital after becoming a cooperator brother in the Order.
Devoted to fasting, penance, and prayer, he led a life marked by simplicity and humility, illuminated by love.
He died in Lima on November 3, 1639. He is considered the patron saint of barbers and hairdressers.
John Macías: A shepherd and porter serving those in need
During his meeting with the Bishops of Peru, the Pope cited the example of St. John Macías, who was born on March 2, 1585, in Ribera de Fresno, Spain.
Under the spiritual inspiration of St. John the Evangelist, he set out for Lima at around the age of thirty and settled there, working as a shepherd and cattle herder.
In 1622, he entered the Dominican priory of St. Mary Magdalene as a cooperator brother and took his vows the following year. He was then entrusted with the role of porter, which enabled him to devote himself entirely to caring for the poor.
His biography also recalls his friendship with St. Martin de Porres, with whom he shared a commitment to serving those most in need. He died in the Peruvian capital on September 16, 1645, and was canonized by Pope St. Paul VI on September 28, 1975.
Turibius of Mogrovejo: On the front lines against the plague
One of the best-known and most beloved saints in Peru and Latin America, St. Turibius of Mogrovejo is a key figure during the Peruvian stage of Pope Leo XIV’s journey to South America.
As an Augustinian missionary in Peru, the Pope had always shown a deep devotion to this Spanish-born saint. Bishop of Lima for twenty-five years in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, an expert in law, and driven by ardent apostolic zeal, St. Turibius repeatedly traveled throughout his vast diocese, often on foot, diligently caring for the flock entrusted to him.
Through synods, he stamped out abuses and scandals among the clergy; he catechized and converted Indigenous peoples, founded around a hundred parishes, and convened a Pan-American council, two provincial councils, and twelve diocesan synods.
When the plague reached Peru, he placed himself on the front lines among the sick, giving them everything he had. He died during one of his journeys, in Saña, in 1606.
Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726, and Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed him patron saint of the Latin American episcopate in 1983.
