We have an American Peruvian pope,” said Betty Lazaro. Locals say they expect Pope Leo XIV to carry on Pope Francis’ call to advocate for the poor and immigrants.

Before ascending to lead the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV — formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost — grew up in Chicago, spent decades in Peru, then arrived in Rome.

Hector Camacho remembers Robert Prevost, set to be formally inaugurated as Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, as a young jeans-wearing missionary from Chicago with broken Spanish, landing in Peru at a time when the country was being torn apart by internal conflict.