After being invited by former Peruvian President Ollanto Humala back in 2014, Pope Francis quite a few times stated that he would love to visit Peru in the near future. Now his wish finally comes true.
During the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP) in June, it was announced that the Pope is finally coming to Peru from January 18 to 21, 2018.
The faithful and fans of Pope Francis will be happy to hear that the head of the Catholic Church will pay Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo a visit. A detailed schedule of the Pope’s visit will be published soon.
Pope Francis visits Peru 2018 - Update October 20, 2017
Preparations for the visit of Pope Francis in Peru are in full swing. Just yesterday the Ministry of Economy and Finances assigned a staggering S/ 37 million (over US$ 11 million) for the preparation work and the actual visit of the Pope. An official schedule still hasn’t been announced, but some planned activities of the visit already got out.
Planned Schedule of Pope Francis’ visit in Peru
January 18: The Pope arrives in Lima in the late afternoon and spends the night at the Nunciature
January 19: In the morning the Pope travels to Puerto Maldonado. There he celebrates a mass with indigenous communities in the Coliseum and visits the Jorge Basadre Technological Center, and the children’s home “El Principito”. After returning to Lima in the afternoon, the Pope pays Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski a visit at the Government Palace and again spends the night at the Nunciature.
January 20: In the morning the Pope flies from Lima to Huanchaco, Trujillo where he celebrates a mass in Huanchaquito. After the mass he visits the district of Buenos Aires as a sign of empathy for all those affected by the massive destructions caused by the heavy rains and flooding in northern Peru in the first months of 2017. In the afternoon the Pope pays a visit to the Seminario San Carlos y San Marcelo. The day ends at the main plaza in Trujillo. Return to Lima
January 21: On the morning of his last day in Peru, the Pope meets with religious leaders of the Sanctuary and Monastery of the Nazarenas and the Archbishopric. He as well visits the Cathedral of Lima and meets with adolescents at the Plaza de Armas, Lima’s main square in the city center. Later that day the Pope celebrates a huge mass at the Las Palmas Air Base.
Where does Pope Francis celebrate masses in Peru and how to attend
In Lima the Pope will celebrate a mass together with expected 1.5 million people at the Base Aerea Las Palmas (Las Palmas Air Base), a military airport in Lima’s District Surco, on January 21, 2018.
Those wishing to attend the mass have to register at one of the 125 parishes in Lima with their DNI or carné. Some schools and universities also offer interested persons to sign up for the mass. While a representative of the Archbishop’s office announced the tickets free of charge are issued after the registration, other sources reported that interested have to leave their contact information and wait to see if they will be one of the “choosen” ones and be invited to attend the mass.
Additionally since the beginning of December registering online from a computer or mobile device is possible as well; tickets however have to be picked up at one of the numerous parishes in Lima.
The Trujillo mass, where at least 500,000 to 1 million people are expected, is held on January 20, 2018 at an area of 12 ha (about 30 acres) in Huanchaquito (district of Huanchaco) next to the infrastructure built for the Bolivarian Games Huanchaco 2013.
In Puerto Maldonado Pope Francis celebrates a mass on January 19 at the Coliseum.