As bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo XIII, reconciled the diocese with lay movements, which had become estranged under previous bishops.
One of Prevost’s early priorities was revamping Caritas, the diocese’s charitable arm, NCR Online reports. Prevost, who became a Peruvian citizen shortly after his ordination, expanded collaboration with local nongovernmental organizations not affiliated with the church, as well as private and public institutions to increase the aid Caritas could deliver and broaden its reach in the community. Through Caritas, he established soup kitchens in parishes and a diocesan food bank.
Caritas’ work became more closely integrated into the life of the diocese, rather than operating as a separate entity. Prevost also made personnel changes, appointing a laywoman as the organisation’s director.
At the same time, Bishop Prevost pushed diocesan offices to promote pastoral initiatives, revitalising diocesan offices for the family, youth, catechesis and communications, NCR says.
“This created a new sense of unity, this is what Monseñor Prevost provided us with,” according to Fr Fidel Purisaca. “To make it so that pastoral programs are organic, that they have a methodology.”
While the Chiclayo Diocese run by Opus Dei bishops for 46 years, foreign missionaries and local Peruvians continued to develop a spirituality marked by liberation theology and focusing on pastoral care.
“We would go to classes, to meetings, we could not receive that through the diocese, so we looked for it among ourselves,” said Yolanda Díaz, a lay Catholic leader involved in grassroots community initiatives in her native Chiclayo.
A burgeoning community of like-minded Catholics connected movements dedicated to supporting Catholic students, young workers, teachers and professionals working in the community by meeting in homes and parks to hold spiritual reflections and organise charitable initiatives.
Several lay-led organizations emerged outside formal church structures, carrying out education, youth formation, family support and nutrition programs in poor neighborhoods across the region, while remaining outside of the diocese and parish structures.
However, in his first year as bishop, Prevost accepted an invitation to meet with lay movements active in Chiclayo. Following that initial contact, the Chiclayo Diocese recognised several lay-led organizations under Prevost’s direction, signing agreements to facilitate their collaboration.
He began organising diocesan assemblies, a forum created to gather parish delegates, clergy, religious and lay movements — many of them previously excluded from participating in their parishes — to listen and discuss the realities of the diocese and discern pastoral priorities together. It functioned as a consultative body that identified concrete social and pastoral challenges and informed an annual diocesan pastoral plan.
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As Pope Francis’ pick for Peru, Bishop Prevost reshaped an ‘Opus Dei diocese’ (NCR Online)
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Courtesy of Janina Sesa