By Sebastián Sansón Ferrari – Chiclayo
For the Rimaycuna family, the joy of seeing one of their own serve alongside the Successor of Peter goes hand in hand with the joy of an entire community welcoming its former bishop back.
During Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Journey to Peru, Leidy Rimaycuna, the sister of the Pope’s personal secretary, Msgr. Edgard Rimaycuna Inga, spoke to Vatican News in Chiclayo. She shared her memories of Robert Prevost and her family’s feelings about his historic return.
Msgr. Edgard and Robert Prevost began working together in 2015, when Prevost was bishop of Chiclayo. “My brother started working with Bishop Robert in 2015, when he was bishop of Chiclayo. He was his personal secretary during his time there,” Leidy recalled.
After a period of study in Rome, her brother returned to the diocese and resumed his work. In 2023, when Prevost was called to Rome to become prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Msgr. Rimaycuna accompanied him again as his secretary.
Leidy said closeness and trust were central to their work together. “What really stood out was how well they communicated, how close they were, and the trust my brother placed in the man who is now the Holy Father,” she explained.
She saw that relationship in their day-to-day work and in the many drives they took together across the diocese to visit local communities.
A shepherd close to those on the peripheries
Looking back on Robert Prevost’s years in Chiclayo, Leidy particularly remembered how attentive he was to people who were suffering. She recalled a shepherd who made a point of visiting communities most in need and taking practical steps to help.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped raise funds to install oxygen plants. “The goal was one plant. He got the whole community behind the fundraising, and in the end they were able to install two oxygen plants,” she said.
She also recalled how he went out to see people affected by flooding in Íllimo and other communities after the coastal El Niño event known locally as Yaku.
“He liked to visit and see things for himself, instead of hearing about them secondhand. He was someone who wanted to stay very close to the community,” she said.
That closeness, she said, has stayed with him since his election. “I think he’s still the same person at heart. He’s very approachable and likes to stay close to his community. He’s a very calm person, and he makes you feel that same peace and calm.”
A double blessing for the family
May 8, 2025, remains etched in the Rimaycuna family’s memory. Robert Prevost’s election as Successor of Peter brought immense joy to the people of Chiclayo, especially to a family that had seen his pastoral work up close.
They had another reason to be grateful. Msgr. Edgard would continue to accompany him in his new mission.
“Knowing that Bishop Robert had been elected Pope was a blessing and an immense joy. We all felt so proud and moved, and knowing my brother would stay on as his secretary really was a double blessing,” Leidy said.
One memory the family especially treasures is the new Pope’s first greeting to his beloved Diocese of Chiclayo when he appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Her brother told her that the greeting had been unscripted.
“It came from his heart, from his soul, to greet his beloved Diocese of Chiclayo. It’s something that has stayed in the heart of every one of us in Chiclayo,” she said.
The Pope’s return to Peru brought those feelings back. The family was also able to join Pope Leo XIV during his private visit to the Chapel of St. Oscar Romero in the district of La Victoria, a place of particular significance in Msgr. Edgard’s vocational journey.
It was there that the Pope’s personal secretary received his formation. “Seeing my brother and the Holy Father come back filled us with pride and satisfaction,” she said.
Leidy also recalled her family’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV in Rome in May of this year. What stood out to her was his warmth and the way he welcomed them.
“He’s a very warm person who likes to be close to people. He welcomed us with so much gratitude, love, and generosity, just as he always does in everything he does.”
An invitation to have no fear
Leidy believes her brother’s experience can encourage young people considering a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life. She encouraged them to listen for God’s call and respond with confidence.
“I think my brother’s story can inspire many young people who want to enter the seminary or commit themselves to religious life. They need to stay very close to God and be clear about their principles,” she said. “I would tell them to have no fear, to listen, to learn how to listen, and to pay attention to those first stirrings.”
Looking ahead to the end of the Apostolic Visit and the Pope’s return to Rome, Leidy said she hoped Peruvians would carry something deeper with them than the excitement of these days.
“I’d like the message he brought us to stay with us. It’s a message of peace, love, and communication, of helping our neighbors and becoming better people.”
Before the interview ended, she shared a personal memory she holds especially dear. When she got married in 2017, she invited the then-bishop of Chiclayo to the wedding.
His pastoral commitments kept him from attending, but he sent his congratulations and best wishes for their married life through her brother.
“I keep his message in an album, and I treasure it in my heart and soul. He wished us a happy marriage, always with God’s blessing,” she recalled.
