Pope Leo's Citizenship Application Declared Cultural Heritage In Peru

LIMA, Nov 13 (NNN-dpa) -- Pope Leo XIV's handwritten application for Peruvian citizenship has been declared part of the country's national cultural heritage as the US-born pontiff visits what he considers his second home, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Peru's Culture Ministry announced the decision as millions of people welcomed the pope to the streets of the capital Lima following his arrival on Wednesday evening.

In 2015, Robert Francis Prevost, an Augustinian priest from Chicago, applied for Peruvian citizenship to become bishop of Chiclayo, a major city in northern Peru.

He had previously spent more than a decade working as a missionary in the South American country.

The application, written on stationery from the Diocese of Chiclayo, bears his signature and fingerprint.

Pope Leo, formerly known in Peru as "Padre Roberto", is in the country as part of a 12-day tour of South America and is due to stay until Monday.

On Friday, he returns to Chiclayo for the first time since his election in May 2025 as head of the Catholic Church, which has around 1.4 billion members worldwide.

--NNN-dpa