教皇利奥周六前往秘鲁西部安第斯山脉，在其为期12天的南美之行中安排了一站特别行程，探访一个不足6000名居民的偏远小镇。当地人曾认识他为奇克拉约主教，而这座大城市距离小镇有四小时车程。记者：亚拉·纳尔迪、约书亚·麦克尔维教皇利奥周六前往秘鲁西部安第斯山脉，在其为期12天的南美之行中安排了一站特别行程，探访一个不足6000名居民的偏远小镇。当地人曾认识他为奇克拉约主教，而这座大城市距离小镇有四小时车程。
Pope Leo travelled on Saturday to Peru's western Andean mountains on a special stop on his 12-day South America tour to visit a remote town of under 6,000 inhabitants who once knew him as the bishop of Chiclayo, the big city that's a four-hour drive away. By Yara Nardi, Joshua McElwee Pope Leo travelled on Saturday to Peru's western Andean mountains on a special stop on his 12-day South America tour to visit a remote town of under 6,000 inhabitants who once knew him as the bishop of Chiclayo, the big city that's a four-hour drive away.
利奥此次访问秘鲁，是首位成为教皇的秘鲁公民首次情感回归故土。他走的是2015年至2023年担任奇克拉约主教时曾多次走过的路线，从太平洋沿岸向东行进100公里（62英里）抵达圣克鲁斯-德苏查班巴。
Leo, visiting Peru on an emotional return home for the first Peruvian citizen to become pope, made a journey he took many times as Chiclayo's bishop from 2015 to 2023, going 100 km (62 miles) east from the Pacific Coast to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba.
这一次，他没有像过去那样走蜿蜒山路、司机需缓行以避开深谷，而是以环球天主教会领袖的身份乘直升机抵达。
This time, instead of taking winding mountain roads where drivers go slowly to navigate steep ravines, the leader of the global Catholic Church arrived by helicopter.
“教皇利奥，欢迎回家，”当地乐队在人群聚集的田野上为利奥举行的弥撒中高唱。市中心各处建筑均为西班牙殖民风格，墙壁绘有描绘他在秘鲁担任主教时期的壁画。
"Pope Leo, welcome home," a local band sang as crowds gathered in a field for a Mass with Leo. Buildings across the city center, developed in a Spanish colonial style, were painted with murals depicting the pope when he was a bishop in Peru.
利奥原籍芝加哥，在秘鲁作为传教士生活了约20年，持有美国和秘鲁双重国籍。此次访问是他三国之行的最后一站，也是最私人化的一站；整个行程已吸引创纪录的约1200万人次聚集。据国家统计局数据，包含圣克鲁斯的卡哈马卡大区是该国最贫困地区之一，高达40%的人口生活在贫困中。
Leo, originally from Chicago, lived for about 20 years in Peru as a missionary and holds both US and Peruvian citizenship. He is visiting the country on the last and most personal leg of a three-nation tour that has drawn record crowds of some 12 million people Cajamarca, the Peruvian department including Santa Cruz, is one of the poorest regions of the country, where up to 40% the population lives in poverty, according to the state statistics office.
利奥周六抵达后不久在当地一座堂区发言时表示，能再次造访这个小镇，他感到“极大的喜悦”。
Speaking at a local parish shortly after arrival on Saturday, Leo said he felt "great joy" at being able to visit the small town again.
他说：“这就像一个非常宏大的梦想，主允许这位仆人来到这里。”
"It is like a very big dream that the Lord has allowed this servant to come here," he said.
利奥后来在教区附近的一片田野上主持弥撒。梵蒂冈估计现场约有2万人，人数少于他在南美之行的其他活动，但许多到场者都认识利奥，他过去每年会来这里数次，为当地农村人口服务。
Leo later celebrated Mass on a field near the parish. The crowd, estimated by that Vatican at 20,000 people, was smaller than other events on his South America tour, but many of the people present were known by Leo, who used to visit several times a year to minister to its rural population.
其中一位是凯文·诺列加神父，他是当地神甫，于2018年由未来的教皇、时任罗伯特·普雷沃斯特主教祝圣。他说，利奥以喜欢开车著称，过去常自己开着皮卡前来探访社区，并停留数日。
Among them was Rev. Kevin Noriega, a local priest ordained by the future pope, then known as Bishop Robert Prevost, in 2018. He said Leo, known as someone who enjoys driving, used to drive himself in a pick-up truck to come visit the community and stay there for days.
“今天充满了巨大的希望和激动，”诺列加说。“人们渴望体验这场神圣弥撒……因为时隔许久，他们终于能再见到他们的主教——他们过去称他为‘罗伯特神父’——如今已成为教宗。”
"There is enormous hope and emotion today," said Noriega. "People are eager to experience this Holy Mass ... because after so much time they will be able to see their bishop — 'Father Robert,' as they used to call him — now as the Holy Father."
利奥在周六的讲道中感谢信众不远万里来到城里见他，并鼓励他们尽管生活艰难也永不灰心。
In a sermon on Saturday, Leo thanked the crowd for making the journey into town to see him and encouraged them never to lose heart, despite life's difficulties.
“弟兄姐妹们，主知晓你们走过的路、遭受的苦、挂念的事、面临的挑战，”他说。“当力量不足时，祂就是你们的粮食。”
"Brothers and sisters, the Lord knows the paths you travel, your hardships, your worries and the challenges you face," he said. "When strength is lacking, he is your nourishment."
利奥将于周六下午返回奇克拉约，为周日的行程做准备——这是他在秘鲁的倒数第二天，他将前往前印加帝国首都库斯科，以及通往亚马逊丛林门户的普卡帕。
Leo returns to Chiclayo on Saturday afternoon ahead of visits on Sunday, his penultimate day in Peru, to Cusco, the former Inca capital, and Pucallpa, a gateway to the Amazonian jungle.