Pope Léon XIV visits Cusco and the Peruvian Amazon on Sunday
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SABC News
Léon XIV, the first Peruvian pope, is due to travel 2,270 km across Peru on Sunday in 12 hours, with four events in Cusco and Pucallpa, in the Amazon. His 12-day tour of three countries has drawn about 12 million people, according to SABC News.
Pope Léon XIV is due to travel 2,270 kilometres in 12 hours on Sunday to take part in four events in Cusco and Pucallpa, before returning to Lima at the end of the day. He will then leave Peru for Rome on Monday, SABC News reports.
In Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, the pope is due in particular to visit the Saqsaywaman archaeological site, located at an altitude of 3,700 metres. In Pucallpa, representatives of the Indigenous Shipibo-Konibo people hope to use his visit to draw attention to their living conditions and demands, according to SABC News.
Religious leaders in Cusco also want to highlight the local faith and traditions. The trip could also lead to statements on the illegal exploitation of Amazonian forests and its environmental consequences, SABC News reports.
Léon XIV, who is originally from Chicago and holds American and Peruvian nationality, lived in Peru for about twenty years as a missionary. He had undergone surgery on 13 October for a lung adenocarcinoma, but his doctors said the cancer was localised and that no further treatment would be necessary, according to SABC News.
