Catholic Church in Peru

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The Catholic Church in Peru is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope, the curia in Rome, and the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.

Catholics compose an estimated 76% of Peru's population,Latinobarometro, Opinion Publica Latinoamericana, Enero 2018. according to the 2017 census.[https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/peru US State Dept 2022 report] In 2020, there were over 3,000 priests and over 9,000 nuns serving across 1,670 parishes;[https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/peru Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08] the church also ran 136 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.

The Holy See and the government of Peru concluded a pact regulating their relations and certain aspects of the Church's status in Peru on 26 July 1980.{{cite web| access-date = May 17, 2025 | url =https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/archivio/documents/rc_seg-st_19800726_santa-sede-peru_sp.html |website= Secretariat of State, Holy See |language =es | date =July 26, 1980 | title = Conventio Acuerdo entre la Santa Sede y la Republica del Perú }}

Peru has produced two famous saints, St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres, as well as two Blesseds, Ana de los Ángeles (Ana Monteagudo Ponce de León) and Antonia Luzmila Rivas López (María Agustina).[http://www.gcatholic.org/saints/data/country-PE.htm G Catholic website, Saints page, retrieved 2023-08-28]

In 2025, Pope Leo XIV, an American who migrated to Peru in 1985 and who also spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru, would become the first Pope with Peruvian citizenship.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/prevost-first-us-pope-supported-francis-shunned-spotlight-2025-05-08/|title=Prevost, first U.S. pope, supported Francis and shunned spotlight|first=Joshua|last=McElwee|publisher=Reuters|date=May 8, 2025|accessdate=May 8, 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/nation-world/where-is-pope-leo-xiv-from-chicago-native-peruvian-citizen/507-2cca8df2-e4d5-4aca-9084-3ec98769cc24|title=Where is Pope Leo XIV from? What to know about the first American pope|publisher=CBS 8 San Diego|date=May 8, 2025|accessdate=May 8, 2025}}