Updated May 10, 2025 at 10:31 AM EDT
Shortly after stepping onto the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, the new pope, Leo XIV, took a moment to thank the city where he served as bishop for nearly a decade.
"To all of you but especially to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru," he said in Spanish. "Where a faithful people have accompanied its bishop, shared its faith and given so much to continue being a church which is faithful to Jesus Christ."
Janinna Sesa says the city erupted in celebration when it heard its name on the world's stage. Sesa is the former Chiclayo director of Caritas, the Catholic Church's international humanitarian aid organization.
Together with the then-Bishop Robert Frances Prevost, Sesa worked on aid efforts to address catastrophic flooding, a dengue fever outbreak and later the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We saw a bishop who put on a helmet, boots and went out to meet people, very close, very, very humble with everyone," Sesa said. "From those who held important positions to the most humble of people."
At the height of the COVID pandemic, the Chiclayo region in coastal, northern Peru experienced a shortage of oxygen, it was then that Sesa says the bishop galvanized his network in order to bring resources to those in need.
"Thanks to his efforts we managed to buy not just one plant, but two oxygen plants. That saved many lives," Sesa shared with NPR from Peru. "The oxygen was made available free of charge to anyone who needed it, especially the most vulnerable."
In 2023, the bishop left Chiclayo for Rome, where the late Pope Frances promoted Prevost to archbishop. Later that year, Sesa says she visited Prevost at his new palatial-like office in Italy where the two reminisced about their years in Peru. She says she found him to be busy yet calm and content in his new role.
Sesa says Chiclayo will continue to root and pray for the new pope as he enters a new and demanding period of service.
"He can count on our prayers because it will also be a difficult road ahead for him," she said. "Lots of prayers from all of Chiclayo which he carries in his heart."
The radio version of this story was produced by Claire Murashima and Carla Esteves. The digital article was edited by Obed Manuel.
Copyright 2025 NPR
