Archbishop of Cusco and bishop of Puno die ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Peru

The Catholic Church in Peru is finishing preparations for Pope Leo XIV's visit after losing two bishops in the southern Andes within 48 hours. Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco died on Friday, October 30, at 74, after a long battle with cancer. Bishop Jorge Pedro Carrión Pavlich of Puno died the next day, Saturday, October 31, at 76, while hospitalized at a clinic in Lima. The pope is due in the country from November 11 to 16.

Alarcón Urrutia and the preparations in Cusco

Alarcón Urrutia, a Franciscan born in Lima on April 10, 1952, entered the order in 1969 and was ordained a priest in 1976. Pope Francis named him metropolitan archbishop of Cusco on October 27, 2014, and he took office on January 3, 2015. In recent months, despite his poor health, he led the planning with civil and Church authorities to welcome Leo XIV to the Imperial City, as Cusco is known. The pope is scheduled to meet the faithful at the Saqsaywaman National Archaeological Park and pray the Angelus in front of the cathedral on Sunday, November 15.

Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolence in which he remembered the archbishop as "a devoted Pastor." The Peruvian Bishops' Conference (CEP), Peru's counterpart of the USCCB, expressed its sorrow "with hope in the resurrection" at the death of its former vice president.

Because Cusco had a coadjutor archbishop with right of succession, Lizardo Estrada Herrera became archbishop automatically, with no further papal appointment needed. Leo XIV had named him coadjutor on August 29. Estrada is also secretary general of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), and he will receive the pope in the city on November 15.

Carrión Pavlich and his ministry on the altiplano

Carrión Pavlich was born in Tarma on May 21, 1950, and was ordained a priest in 1976 after studying in Germany. He served as deputy secretary of the CEP and was named apostolic administrator of Puno on February 14, 1998. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the diocese on March 25, 2000, a post he held for more than 26 years until his death.

His ministry included evangelization among Quechua- and Aymara-speaking communities, the reopening of the San Ambrosio Conciliar Seminary and the provision of oxygen plants for the people of Puno during the pandemic. In a statement of condolence, the CEP said it joined "in prayer with the Church of Puno, his family and the whole Catholic community," and gave thanks for his life and his dedication to the service of the Church.

Unlike Cusco, the Diocese of Puno had no coadjutor bishop. The Holy See has not yet announced who will lead the diocese in the meantime.

Effects on the papal visit

The official itinerary of the visit, confirmed by the Vatican, keeps Leo XIV's stop in Cusco on November 15, on a trip that also includes Lima, Chiclayo and Pucallpa. Puno is not among the cities on the published program. In Cusco, Estrada will take on his predecessor's role within days.

The funeral rites for Carrión Pavlich have also been complicated by the weather. The plane carrying his remains from Lima to Puno had to return to the capital because of weather conditions at the airport in Juliaca, forcing the farewell ceremonies planned in the region to be rescheduled.