Link with Peru: Pope Leo XIV includes Saint Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardens

He Pope Leo XIV This Saturday he inaugurated a mosaic dedicated to the Virgin Mary and an image of Saint Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardensin a gesture that underlines his relationship and that of the Holy See with Peru.

The decision “renews the deep ties of faith and friendship that unite Peru, a country so dear to me, with the Holy See,” the pontiff said.

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In a ceremony in the gardens, in front of the Torreón de San Juan, and together with the Peruvian bishops who are in Romethe pope blessed the mosaic and the image of the first Latin American saint, Rosa de Lima.

“Gathered in this beautiful place, where everything speaks to us about the Creator and the beauty of what is created, I would like to thank first of all the artists who have created these works and those who have made it possible for us to enjoy this pleasant event today,” the pope said.

The sculpture of Rosa de Lima is by the young Peruvian artist Edwin Morales and has been made with white marble from Huancayowhile the mosaic was the work of Lenin Álvarez and represents “the extraordinary richness and diversity of Marian devotion in Peru.”

“Dear friends, these beautiful images that we contemplate today remind us of the greatness of the vocation to which God calls us, that is, the universal vocation to holiness. I encourage you to be, with the grace of God, a testimony and example of that holiness in the world today,” the pope said in his speech.

The Peruvian ambassador to the Holy See, Jorge Ponce Sandoval, also participated in the ceremony, and in his speech he thanked the Pope Leo XI “this new show of affection” and reiterated “that this ‘hallowed’ land (…) awaits him with hope, with faith and with gratitude and affection that transcends oceans and continents and that arrives here”

“Each one of the Peruvians, I on behalf of all of them, thank you very much, and as you know, we hope to see you very soon in Peru,” concluded the ambassador regarding the possibility that the Pope will travel this year to the country where he spent 20 years, as a missionary and later bishop of Chiclayo.