Holy See–Peru relations are foreign relations between the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

History

Both countries initiated diplomatic contacts under

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

after a series of visits by Monsignor , with diplomatic relations being officially established in 1859 under Luis Mesones between Peru and the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. During a mission by Pedro Gálvez Egúsquiza, the ''Bula Praeclara Inter Beneficia'' was issued on March 5, 1875, Apostolic Letters that recognized the

Presidents of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Armed Forces a ...

the exercise of the Right of Patronage that ''de facto'' they had exercised since the country's independence as successors of the Monarchs of Spain. An agreement was signed on July 19, 1980, effective since the 26th of the same month. It established the prerogatives, tax exemptions, the legal status of the Catholic Church and recognizes its importance in the historical, cultural and moral formation of the country.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

made two pastoral visits. The first was in February 1985 and the second in May 1988.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

made one in January 2018. In May 2025, American-born and naturalized citizen of Peru, Robert Francis Prevost, then- Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and then-President of the

Pontifical Commission for Latin America The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under t ...

, was elected Pope and took the Papal name as

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

, becoming the first Pope from

, the second Pope to come from the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

(after Pope Francis), the first Pope with dual citizenship (for Pope Leo XIV holds a dual American and Peruvian citizenship), and the first pope to be born after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

High-level visits

Papal visits from the Holy See to Peru *

(1985, 1988) *

(2018) Presidential visits from Peru to the Holy See Papa Francisco recibe en el Vaticano a la presidente de Perú (in Spanish)
/ref> * President

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

(1997) * President

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popula ...

(2009) * President

Ollanta Humala Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towar ...

(2014) * President

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Godard (; born 3 October 1938), also known simply as PPK (), is a Peruvian economist, public administrator, and former politician who served as the 59th President of Peru from 2016 to 2018. He served as Prime Minister of ...

(2017) * President

Dina Boluarte Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra (; born 31 May 1962) is a Peruvian politician, civil servant, and lawyer who has been serving as the 64th president of Peru since 2022. She had served as the Vice President of Peru, first vice president and minister ...

(2023)

Resident diplomatic missions

* has an

apostolic nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. * has an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

based in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. File:Apostolic Nunciature to Peru 02.jpg, Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Lima File:Peruian embassy to the Holy See.JPG, Embassy of Peru to the Holy See in Rome

References

External links

Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Relations: direction of the Peruvian embassy to the Holy See

Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Relations and Cult: direction of the Holy See’s embassy in Lima

Acuerdo entre la Santa Sede y el Perú (in Spanish only)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy See-Peru relations

Bilateral relations of Peru

History

High-level visits

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

External links