Peru welcomes Pope Leo XIV on final stop of South American tour, in photos

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.”