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A Peruvian Insight

Lucho Espejo, FoC & ACAF Board Member

The election of Pope Leo XIV initially
caused surprise, but this was quickly
followed by feelings of hope for what
his leadership might bring to the Church
and the world. As a Peruvian and a
Christian Catholic, I shared that same
surprise and hope—but also a profound
joy in knowing that the successor of Native Peruvian, Lucho Espejo meets Native Chicagoan, Bishop
Peter had walked paths similar to mine, Robert Prevost in 2015 in Peru. Who knew he was shaking hands
and in a sense, the reverse of mine. with the future Pope? Both have a heart for mission work in Peru.

I was born, raised, and formed as a pandemics, floods—he stood beside his Father Prevost left his family, his city,
Christian during the ecclesial changes community, offering encouragement and his country to become a missionary.
that emerged after the Second Vatican and guiding his flock alongside other In a way, he lived the experience of
Council, particularly through its religious and lay leaders. being an immigrant, just as many of
adaptations for Latin America done
at the Latin American Conference of
Bishops at Medellín-Colombia and
PueblaMexico. In Peru, this meant
receiving and sharing the Gospel’s
message—a message of life—amid a
reality that stands against God’s will:
a reality of early death and unjust
suffering endured by most people in our
countries, including Peru.

Pope Leo XIV chose to live and serve
among these very communities—the
ones I come from. He answered the
Lord’s call to be light and hope in the
midst of the darkness and despair
experienced by the poor in northern
Peru. There are countless testimonies of
his closeness to the people. During the
many crises that struck his diocese—

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