Peru welcomes Pope Leo XIV on final stop of South American tour, in photos
Pope Leo XIV attends a meeting with the Catholic community on the occasion of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo at the Shrine of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Zana, Peru, on the ninth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
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Pope Leo XIV has denounced the “suffering and humiliation” endured by African enslaved people as he made a tangible show of remorse in Peru following his historic apology for the Holy See’s own role in legitimizing the African slave trade in the Americas. The U.S.-born Leo, whose own family tree includes enslaved people and slave owners, delivered the remarks in the northern Peruvian city of Zaña, a UNESCO-recognized memorial site of slavery and a center of the Afro-Peruvian community today. In remarks to the community, Leo said Zaña “preserves the memory of generations of Africans who were torn from their homes and subjected to slavery.”
