Peruvian Catholics in Long Beach thought Robert Francis Prevost becoming Pope was a long shot.
“Not in a million years,” said Cynthia Carreiro, a Peruvian-American Catholic who co-owns Alli Kaphiy in Long Beach’s Bixby Knolls neighborhood. “I had a list of my top 10. I didn’t have him as part of that. I didn’t even know his background until I started looking.”
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WATCH HERECarreiro watched the conclave intensely in her Peruvian coffee shop along with others stunned by the news of an American- born Catholic selected to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
“My body had chills just to find out that here we have a Peruvian American pope. It’s so amazing," said Carreiro.
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SIGN UP “As a Catholic and Peruvian American, I wish Pope Leo XIV strength as he steps into his role as a global and spiritual leader,” wrote former Long Beach mayor and current congressman Robert Garcia. “He has demonstrated that he believes in justice for the poor and immigrants. May his leadership reflect these ideals as he spreads peace across the world.”
Parishioners at St. Peter’s in Hawaiian Gardens celebrated a noon mass just a hour after the news of an American pope broke.
“I don’t think it has happened, right? I think this is the first time,” said Cynthia Urquides, a St. Peter’s Parishioner.
“We are very excited,” said Brother Christopher Puglia with St. Peter’s Church. “(We are) praying for our new Holy Father who is leading us.”
Prevost was born in Chicago to a U.S. Navy Veteran of Italian and French descent and a mother with Spanish roots. He spent a third of his life in U.S.
From Chicago, he went Chiclayo in Northern Peru first as a missionary in 1984 and was ultimately made Archbishop before leaving for Italy to serve in the Vatican the last 20 years.
“This new pope is not what America deserves, but what it needs,” said St. Peter’s parishioner John Simon, who hopes the new Pope will bring more Catholics back to the church.
“He is the new beacon of God,” said Carreiro.
