In the cathedral of Chiclayo, Peru, just inside the entrance, sits a table with a thick book, filled with blank pages.
Before and after Mass, Catholics line up to write in that book — during busy times, they’re waiting more than an hour, sometimes. In the book, they’re writing messages to the man most remember as “Monsignor Robert” — known to the rest of the world as Pope Leo XIV.
At the Chiclayo cathedral, The Pillar talked with Catholic waiting to send Pope Leo a letter — and with a few folks outside the cathedral, during the cathedral parish’s Peruvian Independence Day festival.
Most of them remember Msgr. Robert fondly.
These interviews have been translated, and edited for length and clarity.
We are from Lima, we came to Chiclayo to visit our father’s grave. I also wanted my son to see the pope’s city, the beautiful city of Chiclayo.
We wrote a letter to the pope because I wanted to remind him of God’s mercy, and that God is blessing him now — and to thank him for all the help he has given to the city of Chiclayo, and the love he has given to all the people of Peru.
On families: The family is like a river of people, which reaches far for the good future of children, that they can have freedom of thought and opportunity, and each one’s own path, the path Jesus showed us, which children can follow.
The pope can help to protect children, and to help them be free.
I wrote to the pope because our family needs the pope’s love — we are going through very difficult times right now, and so I hope the pope will read what I’ve written to him.
We are very happy happy that our pope is Peruvian, because the world can learn from the Church in Peru to be strong, no matter what problems we have — and that is how our Peruvian pope is now.
I am very proud that our pope is from Lambayeque [the Peruvian region of which Chiclayo is the capital. I was blessed by Monsignor Rober when he visited [nearby town] Motupo. Today, I wrote to Pope Leo to ask him to pray for protection for my parents, who are far away from here. And I hope he will keep protecting Peruvians and Chiclayans, and stay close to us.
I met the pope in 2016 on a missionary trip of young people from the cathedral — I was 20. He built such a relationship of friendship and closeness with young people in the parish, even though he was older and was a bishop — we were surprised because we didn’t expect that a bishop — a person of high status — would be and trying to get to know us young people from the cathedral, to share real friendship.
Msgr. Robert would talk with us about the Catholic faith, and then in 2019, I was able to travel with him to World Youth Day in Panama — it was very special for us that the bishop wanted to travel with us, and to be with us for World Youth Day.
Before I got here, I had tried to find a group of young people who practice the faith in my town, and then in another part of Chiclayo, and then I came here, and I was nervous about [finding other Catholics]. But I met Msgr. Robert, and it meant so much to me that he lives a missionary lifestyle, and wanted to get to know us. Now there are definitely young people here at the parish who want to be missionaries, who want to have that same missionary heart.
Pastor Juan told The Pillar that he is not a Catholic, but that he preaches the Word of God in the cathedral square as often as he can. He agreed to share his views on Pope Leo XIV.
The pope is a man equal to any other man. No man has power on earth. Above us is only Jesus, and we have only the Word of God.
On praying for the pope: No way.
I am a labor lawyer, and I often saw Msgr. Robert at my university, where he would often go when he was the bishop to hear people’s confessions — he had the position of “grand chancellor,” but he would come to hear confessions, and he’d walk around and students would talk with him, and he would give advice to them.
I ran into him once after I had turned in two exams on the same day, and I was just really worried — and I was exhausted; I hadn’t slept because I had been studying, and I was just so tired. But he just encouraged me. He told me that if I had given it my all, I would be fine. It would be ok.
He was a very beautiful person. And a kind confessor — instead of giving only a penance of a few Hail Marys, he would give advice, and he would just listen so gently. Always listening.