Pope Leo XIV received a public invitation from Peru during a Vatican garden ceremony on Saturday, setting a marker in what the Vatican has described as an increasingly busy 2026 travel calendar. Peru’s ambassador to the Holy See, Jorge Ponce San Roman, invited the pope to visit the country, which Peru sponsored with a mosaic and statue dedicated to the Virgin Mary that were inaugurated during the event in the Vatican gardens.
Vatican officials said the pope’s wider travel plans for 2026 are still being worked out, even as multiple diplomatic confirmations and reported discussions point to major stops. The Vatican said an Africa trip involving four countries is likely to take place sometime after Easter, without dates publicly announced, according to the reporting surrounding the ceremony.
The planned Africa itinerary, as described by Vatican officials, comes amid confirmations in recent days that plans are under way involving Equatorial Guinea and the Vatican’s ambassador in Angola. The broader African list discussed by officials has also included Cameroon and Algeria, though no dates were announced in the account tied to the invitation ceremony.
Leo has also discussed his own priorities for his second trip as pope, including a desire to travel in Africa with special attention to Algeria. The pope has said Algeria holds particular significance for his Augustinian religious order, and Vatican messaging around the region has included the role Algeria plays in Christian-Muslim relations.
Alongside Africa-focused plans, Leo has said he also hoped to visit three countries in Latin America in either 2026 or 2027: Argentina, Uruguay and Peru. The reporting noted that Argentina has been waiting for a papal visit since Pope Francis did not return to his homeland after being elected in 2013, while Peru is tied directly to Leo’s personal history because he lived there for two decades as a missionary and holds citizenship.
At Saturday’s Vatican gardens ceremony, with all Peru’s bishops on hand, Ponce said he and fellow Peruvians “hoped to see you very soon in Peru.” Leo did not respond during the ambassador’s remarks, but his brief remarks at the ceremony recalled that Peru was “such a beloved country to me,” as he spoke following the inauguration.
The invitation was followed by an unusual break from standard protocol, with Leo staying for a buffet lunch organized for invited diplomats and Vatican officials in the gardens. For about an hour, Leo sat with Ponce and the Peruvian bishops in a shaded, less visible area behind where the caterers prepared pisco sour cocktails and plates of ravioli with huancaina, the typical Peruvian creamy sauce.
The event continued despite occasional rain, and the overall atmosphere was described as joyful and relaxed. Leo’s prolonged presence at the embassy-sponsored meal suggested, in the account, that he felt at home with the Peruvian delegation during the celebration.