Lima Newsroom, May 12, 2025 /
15:36 pm
On March 14, 2023, the bishops of Peru awarded the Gold Medal of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo to Bishop Robert Prevost in recognition of his outstanding pastoral work in the country and for being named prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops by Pope Francis.
During the ceremony, Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — referenced how he met with then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio several times during the years when he served as prior general of the Augustinians.
“I won’t tell you the reason, but let’s just say that when Cardinal Bergoglio and I met, we weren’t always in agreement,” Prevost said with a smile, without specifying what disagreements he had with Pope Francis.
‘I’ll never be a bishop’
In thanking the bishops for the award, the now pope recalled how when Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, he “said to some of my brothers: ‘Well, that’s very good, and thank God I’ll never be a bishop.’”
In the video of his 2023 speech, posted by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, he also recounted how Pope Francis presided over the opening Mass of the Augustinian general chapter at St. Augustine Church in Rome on Aug. 28, 2013.
At the end of that Mass, Prevost recalled, Francis said to him: “Now rest.” And he responded: “Thank you, Holy Father, I hope to rest.”
“He gave me a few months and then appointed me bishop of Chiclayo. I don’t know when the part about rest will come, but here we are,” he recounted with a laugh.
The Peruvian hat he received at age 5
Prevost also shared an anecdote about his first connection with Peru: “When I was 5 years old, I don’t know if I knew where Peru was or not, but I had an uncle who worked [there], and he gave me — my aunt, actually — a ‘chullo’ [a traditional woolen hat from the Peruvian Andes], one of those worn in the Apurímac region of the mountains with multi-colors… my Peruvian formation began at a very tender age.”
Prevost emphasized that his stay in Peru was “one of the greatest gifts” the Lord has given him as well as “a great treasure.”
Obedience in ‘all stages of life’
Referring in 2023 to the position he was about to assume at the Vatican as prefect, the then-bishop said: “I’m not entirely happy. My preference would have been to remain in Chiclayo, but one must obey in all stages of life.”
At the end of his acceptance speech, he asked for prayers and emphasized: “Through the Lord of Miracles, Peru will always be present in my heart, in my prayers.”
The Lord of Miracles, also called the Christ of Pachacamilla, is an image of Christ painted on an adobe wall in the 17th century and preserved in the Church of the Nazarene Sisters in the historic center of Lima.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com
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