Franciscan superior general says Pope Leo XIV's visit will renew faith in Peru

Sister María Antonieta García Carrizales, superior general of the Religiosas Franciscanas de la Inmaculada Concepción (Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, FIC), spoke from the Vatican about Pope Leo XIV's apostolic visit to Latin America. She said it will bring renewed energy to the Church in Peru and to the faith of Catholics there. The trip is scheduled for November 6 to 17, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. She described the mood in the country as one of open joy at the arrival of the man she called "the Peruvian pope."

That closeness to the pope, she said, will allow Peruvian Catholics to revive their faith and strengthen their hope in the face of the many social, political, economic, cultural and religious challenges facing Peruvian society. García Carrizales said preparations are moving ahead with enthusiasm, and that religious communities prayed for the pope's recent surgery and are deeply grateful for his recovery.

Church coordination in the preparations

The superior general pointed to the coordination work by bishops in the various dioceses and by religious organizations in the places Leo XIV plans to visit. That diocesan coordination, she said, is essential if the pastoral visit is to reach every community and leave a lasting spiritual mark on the faith of Catholics there.

Rediscovering Christ through unity and service

The pope's presence in Peru, she said, will remind Catholics of "those new maps, those new routes, those new impulses" to rediscover Christ in daily life, through unity, fraternity and service, living out the mysteries of Jesus and living Easter with the certainty that he is "that way, that truth and that life."

García Carrizales also linked the visit to the charism of her congregation, founded by two Peruvians, Father Alfonso María de la Cruz Sardinas and Mother Clara del Corazón de María. Peru today needs the message of peace, reconciliation and unity that the founders proposed, she said.

The Franciscan sisters' commitment

The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who are present in almost every part of the country, will keep praying for the pope's mission and continue their work in education and social projects, she said. The visit will be an occasion to renew and revive the congregation's charism and spirituality.

She said the encounter with Leo XIV will open new paths for awakening in young people the vocation God offers them each day, encouraging them to cultivate it through the interior life, the Word of God and the sacraments. She stressed the importance of engaging with technology as a tool for evangelization and of building, through their lives and their witness, a peace she described as "unarmed and disarming."