But for the city, and for a country that calls him the “Peruvian Pope”, his return home means much more than a collection of photographs and anecdotes.
“It is the return of the man who brought Peruvians closer to the Church,” said Samuel David Miranda Atoche, a local parish priest from Chiclayo who was ordained by the Pope back when he was still the bishop and known under his birth name of Robert Prevost.
And it is not just local people he connected with, according to Díaz, who came to Chiclayo from Venezuela.
“It was difficult for him to see so many migrants living on the streets,” she added, recalling the time when large numbers of Venezuelans came through Chiclayo escaping the political and economic crisis in their home country.
“So, he got in touch with the migration authorities and coordinated with other organisations to speed up the paperwork needed for many of us to obtain legal residency and work permits.”
