A sculpture team in Callao, Peru, completed the largest statue in the country this week: a towering, nearly 46-feet-tall likeness of Pope Leo XIV, who is expected to return to his adopted homeland on Wednesday.
Local media reported that the statue, both the tallest in Peru and the tallest statue of Pope Leo anywhere in the world, weighs four tons altogether and had to be dismantled to be shipped to its final location into two halves, each fitting into a trailer.
The statue was designed and created by artist Rafael Gutiérrez Quispe and his team to honor the earthly head of the Catholic Church who, while being born and raised in the United States, served for decades in Peru and considers himself an honorary Peruvian. Prior to becoming pope, the clergyman Robert Prevost served as the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Callao from 2020 to 2021.
Pope Francis served as the bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, from 2015 to 2023, but first arrived in Peru in 1985 as a missionary. Following his election in 2025, Peruvians celebrated as the newly appointed pope addressed them from the Vatican in Peruvian-accented Spanish, describing them as “a faithful people [who] have accompanied their bishop, have shared their faith, and have given so much, so much to continue being a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.”
Peruvians shared photos of his time in their country, particularly those in which he attended local celebrations and engaged locally during difficult times, such as his time blessing the streets of Chiclayo during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
The pope departed the Vatican on November 6 and is expected to complete his tour of South America on November 17. He began his journey in Montevideo, Uruguay, where tens of thousands in the small nation gathered for his first Mass on the continent since becoming pope this weekend. He then departed to Argentina on Sunday, where he addressed political leaders on Sunday evening and then held a Mass in Buenos Aires on Monday. The service attracted an estimated 2.5 million people flooding the streets of the capital.
Pope Leo is expected to land in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday. As with the two previous countries, he is expected to meet with the head of state, in this case President Keiko Fujimori, and address leaders in the capital before attending events elsewhere in the country. A complex route for greetings with the public on his signature vehicle, often referred to as the “popemobile,” will also form a significant part of his journey.
Chiclayo is preparing for one of the biggest single tourism events in its history when the pope returns to his former diocese in Peru. Pope Leo has not visited since 2023, when he was promoted by Pope Francis and moved to the Vatican, and remains an extremely popular figure in the area. Local hotel and restaurant group leaders estimate that tens of thousands of rooms have been booked to await his visit and most rooms in four- and three-star hotels in the area have been spoken for as of Tuesday. Local businesses are preparing souvenirs and local cousin to cater to the visitors.
“About 850,000 tourists are moving, both domestic and foreigners, who will visit the cities where the pope will, but in total there will be about 3 million of us participating in the Holy Father’s activities,” Minister of Tourism Rogers Valencia told the Peruvian newspaper El Comecio. In Lambayeque, the state division to which Chiclayo belongs, locals are preparing to welcome the pope with special editions of the signature local dessert, the “king kong,” a giant version of the traditional alfajor cookie usually filled with fruit preserves and dulce de leche. Sales of the dessert have already begun to skyrocket as the pope had previously mentioned it to be a favorite Peruvian confection of his.
The pope has used his public remarks in Latin America to champion hard work, building families, and respect for the lives of the unborn and disabled. In Argentina, he encouraged young people to marry and start families, advising, “do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, it remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time.”
The pope also visited an assisted living home for the disabled in Buenos Aires, the Cottolengo Don Orione, where local media reports as many as 80 percent of residents do not receive any visits from family.
“The values of dignity, belonging, and fraternal friendship that distinguish places like this have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success or the cult of outward appearance,” the pope said during his visit.
