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Pope León XIV Blesses Virgen de Chapi Image as Arequipa Pilgrimage Tops 210,000

The gesture highlights the devotion’s reach from Peru’s Polobaya sanctuary to a growing Arequipeño community in Rome.

León XIV saludó a la Asociación de la Virgen de Chapi en Rom
Devotos reciben la bendición de la Mamita de Chapi de Arequipa. Foto: Arzobispado de Arequipa.
El papa León XIV, quien asumió la nacionalidad peruana, tiene un gran vínculo con los fieles del Perú.
Image

Overview

  • Pope León XIV, who addressed St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, greeted the Association of the Virgen de Chapi in Rome and thanked its members for their service.
  • During the same appearance, the pope gave a special blessing to the image of the Virgen de Chapi, marking roughly 20 years of the devotion’s presence in Italy.
  • In Arequipa, more than 210,000 people traveled to the Polobaya sanctuary from April 29 through the May 1 feast, with the Red Cross reporting care for over 2,000 pilgrims.
  • The celebration spans several sites, with many walking up to about 60 kilometers to reach Polobaya while others honor the Virgin at Charcani in Cayma or Chapi Chico in Miraflores.
  • In Rome, an association of Arequipeño migrants sustains annual Masses and processions, tracing its roots to an image relatives once carried to Italy in a suitcase.