The naturalization file of Robert Francis Prevost, current Pope Leo XIV, preserves the handwritten letter with which he requested Peruvian citizenship in 2015. In the document, addressed to then-President Ollanta Humala, Prevost explained his relationship with the country and expressed his intention to “remain in Peru for the rest of my life.”
The documentation, held by the National Superintendency of Migration, has been recalled ahead of the Pontiff’s upcoming visit to Peru. The file contains the procedure Prevost followed to obtain Peruvian nationality after years of pastoral activity in the country.
A handwritten letter to request nationality
Prevost began the procedure in February 2015. According to TVPerú Noticias, the file includes a handwritten letter addressed to Humala in which he outlined his career in Peru and formally requested nationality.
In it, he referred to the different stages of his life in the country and recorded his intention to continue residing there.
The procedure included the administrative requirements established for foreigners applying for naturalization, among them an exam on Peruvian history, geography, and culture.
Prevost obtained one of the highest scores among the files reviewed by the archive staff.
“The Pope passed the test. It is one of the highest grades I have seen among all the files we have reviewed,” Héctor Pérez, head of the General Archive of Migration, explained to TVPerú Noticias.
Nationality was granted in September 2015
In mid-September 2015, Migration issued the resolution by which Prevost officially acquired Peruvian nationality.
That same year he was consecrated Bishop of Chiclayo, a diocese in the north of the country that he subsequently governed until his transfer to Rome to assume responsibilities in the Holy See.
Leo XIV currently maintains dual U.S. and Peruvian nationality.
The file remains under the custody of the Central Archive of Migration together with the documentation generated by other naturalization procedures.
The documentation thus preserves the administrative procedure by which Robert Francis Prevost acquired Peruvian citizenship in 2015, ten years before his election as Leo XIV.