The Papa John’s pizza chain has taken advantage of Leo XIV’s visit to Peru for an advertising campaign that consists of removing the word «Papa» from its name. A sign placed in one of its locations in the country, with a green background and a mitre drawn on it, proclaims: «Now we are Johns because when His Holiness is in Peru, there is only one Papa.» The brand has also started identifying itself on social media as «Johns Perú.»
The message relies on the double meaning of the word «papa,» which in Spanish refers to both the Supreme Pontiff and the potato. On the sign, the word «HOLINESS» appears in large green letters and the word «PAPA» stands out in yellow, so that the final phrase reserves the term exclusively for the Pontiff. In this way, the commercial name of the pizzeria yields the title to the Pope during the days when the country is focused on his presence.
A visit with a Peruvian accent
Leo XIV, a Peruvian as well as American citizen, arrived in Peru on November 11 on the trip that has also taken him to Uruguay and Argentina. Robert Francis Prevost worked for years as a missionary in the country and governed the diocese of Chiclayo between 2015 and 2023, a connection that, according to InfoVaticana reported in advance while preparing the trip, makes Chiclayo the protagonist of the visit.
Local enthusiasm has also translated into initiatives of all kinds. In Callao, for example, a 14-meter statue of Leo XIV was erected facing the Pacific, which was to be inaugurated before the Pontiff’s arrival. The pizza chain’s campaign adds to that wave of popular references to the Pope that accompanies the tour through the country, and resorts to a play on words common in the marketing of major events.