Pope Leo XIV, then the Augustinian priest Robert Prevost, used his father’s inheritance to finance the foundations of a church in Peru, the country where he carried out much of his ministry. This is recounted in “American Pope,” the Pontiff’s biography written by NPR journalists Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow, published on October 6 by Flatiron Books. The episode has come to light just days before the Pope’s trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
According to the book, Louis Prevost died in November 1997. After his passing, his son decided to donate what he had inherited to pay for the concrete base of a temple that the faithful of a Peruvian community had long desired. Until then, parishioners had gathered in makeshift structures made of leaves and sticks.
A request from the women of the Santa María neighborhood
The project, according to the biography, originated from a request made years earlier to Prevost by women from the Santa María neighborhood. They had land on which to build the church but lacked the means to construct it. The future Pope’s help allowed the first physical step of the work to be taken.
“American Pope” adds that, while the plans were being drawn up, Prevost assisted the neighbors with the paperwork and the necessary materials. He left other significant responsibilities, such as seeking donations abroad, in the hands of the community itself, so that the faithful would feel the temple as their own.
A father who visited the seminarians in Peru
The book also recalls Louis Prevost’s connection to the Andean country. After the death of his wife, his son took him to Peru for extended stays, with the idea of changing his surroundings. The seminarians there got to know him closely and called him “Luigi.”
Prevost worked in northern Peru between 1985 and 1998, in the dioceses of Chulucanas and Trujillo, and returned to the country as apostolic administrator of Chiclayo in 2014, where he was ordained bishop and led the diocese until 2023. He obtained Peruvian nationality in 2015.
The Holy See confirmed on October 26 that Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru will take place from November 6 to 17, following his lung surgery. Two days later, the Vatican announced that the Pope will meet with victims of abuse during the trip.