Peruvians flock to Mass with Pope Leo in city he served as bishop

​Vast crowds gathered outside Peru's northern city of Chiclayo on Friday for the centerpiece event of Pope Leo's 12-day South America tour, an outdoor Mass with the people who knew him as their bishop for eight years. People arrived on foot and in lines of vehicles ‌at an arid field outside Chiclayo, a city 10,700 km (6,650 miles) from Rome, where the former Robert Prevost, elected leader of the Catholic Church last year, is still described as "Padre" (Father) or "Amigo" (Friend).

Cheers erupted as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile at the Pampas de Pimentel, a desert park west of Chiclayo, where people waved white-and-yellow Vatican flags and used umbrellas to guard against an intense Pacific coast sun. Screams ‌of "Pope Leo is here!" and "The pope is from Chiclayo!" echoed across the field.

Some people camped all night in the field ahead of the Mass, while others arrived early on ‌Friday morning. Many were forced to walk part of the way to avoid cars lined up for miles. Among them was Karina Chinglay, 40, walking with her mother and two children, all in matching Leo shirts.

"We knew it was going to be quite a large turnout, but we didn't imagine the scale of it," she said. Along the road, vendors sold hats, mini pope dolls and sweet Peruvian bread.

10 MILLION PEOPLE AT EVENTS The pope, originally from Chicago, ⁠is visiting Peru ​on the emotional final leg of a three-nation ⁠tour. In just over a week in South America, Leo has drawn an estimated 10 million people to public events. He declared on Wednesday that the country where he served as a missionary for about 20 years was ⁠his homeland. Leo holds US and Peruvian citizenship.

Leo arrived in Chiclayo from Lima on Friday morning aboard a plane decorated with "#LeoXIVFliesHome" stickers. Leo will stay in the area until Sunday to lead eight events, including a private ​dinner with the priests who once reported to him as bishop. Chiclayo, Peru's fourth-largest city, where agriculture supports the economy, has a population of about 620,000.

Among the faithful who ⁠camped overnight was Maria Esther Chozo Reyes, 76, who took a 12-hour bus ride from Lima and arrived on Thursday afternoon. "He knows the people of Chiclayo and he's lived here, he's made his mission here," she said. "We really need his ⁠blessing."

Others ​said they had set off days prior from neighboring Ecuador. Local resident Luzmila Cornejo, 66, knew the pope from when he was bishop in Chiclayo.

"It's his dear Chiclayo," she said. "It's emotional to see him." Crowds for Leo's visit to Peru have been the largest of his 18-month papacy, with some 3 million gathering in Lima on Wednesday after his arrival from Argentina. Officials ⁠in Chiclayo have estimated that 1 million could attend the Mass there. The pope also visited Uruguay on the tour.

Leo, who began his South America tour less than a month after lung ⁠cancer surgery, has appeared in good form ⁠on one of the most intense foreign tours arranged for a pope in decades. In Peru, he has enthusiastically greeted crowds on rides in an open-air popemobile, made unannounced appearances on the balcony of the Vatican embassy in Lima, where he was staying, and sung local songs at ‌events.