The 59-year-old diplomat holds various degrees in law and geopolitics from Peru and Italy. During his career, he has spent several years in Argentina (1998-2003), Italy (2007-2012), and the United States (2015-2020).
Ponce San Roman subsequently held several positions in the Peruvian senior civil service in Lima. This appointment to the Vatican is his first assignment as ambassador.
According to an article on the Peruvian government website, during the event the Pope and the diplomat discussed the bilateral relationship between Peru and the Holy See, the promotion of peace and dialogue, human dignity and rights, equality, justice, and inclusion.
They also exchanged gifts, including a framed copy of the 2015 document granting then-Bishop Robert Prevost Peruvian citizenship (given by the ambassador) and an apostolic medal of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate (given by the Pope).
The same source mentions that they talked about the upcoming “enthronement of a sculpture of St. Rose of Lima and a mosaic of Marian advocations in the Vatican Gardens,” to take place next week during the ad limina visit of Peru’s bishops to the Holy See.
Pope Leo XIV is expected to participate in the event.
Papal connection to Peru
Pope Leo XIV spent some 20 years of his life in Peru, first as a missionary between 1985 and 1998, then as bishop of Chiclayo between 2014 and 2020.
In 2015, to comply with a treaty between Peru and the Vatican that requires all bishops to be Peruvian nationals, he obtained Peruvian citizenship. In fact, it was more than a formality, as he has shown a deep personal connection to his second homeland.
During his trip to Lebanon, Leo XIV mentioned that he had a great desire to visit Latin America, citing Argentina and Uruguay as possible stops. “I think Peru would welcome me too,” he added with humor, hinting at the possibility of an apostolic trip to that country in the near future.
The Peruvian government’s website reports that the new ambassador reiterated the official invitation for the Pope to visit “in the short term, when his intense agenda permits it.”
The Pope, according to the text, “left a living and endearing memory of his fruitful passage through Peru as a missionary, formator of religious, and bishop of his beloved Diocese of Chiclayo.”