'Cursed' Peru town hopes Pope Leo brings better luck

'Cursed' Peru town hopes Pope Leo brings better luck Estelle.Bronkhorst Tue, 11/03/2026 - 12:00

ZANA - A luckless Peruvian town that has for centuries been dismissed as cursed is hoping for a new lease on life when Pope Leo visits this month.

Under Spanish colonial rule in the 16th century, Zana -- home to around 4,000 souls -- was a wealthy centre of commerce dotted with grandiose churches.

But three centuries after it was nearly destroyed by a flood of biblical proportions, vultures now roost in its ruined steeples.

Zana's identity is strongly associated with Catholicism, thanks to legends of divine punishment -- before the flood, it was regularly attacked by pirates -- to the death in the town in 1606 of Toribio de Mogrovejo, a Spanish missionary who converted Indigenous Peruvians to Christianity.

Saint Toribio, who denounced abuses by the Spanish crown, has been feted as a role model by Leo, who will celebrate the 300th anniversary of his canonisation in Zana in northern Peru during a three-country tour of South America.

"The curse is over," said Maria Colchado, a 63-year-old homemaker who is helping prepare the town for the visit on November 14.

Colchado is one of the volunteers in charge of maintaining the modest church that will receive Pope Leo, who served as archbishop in this region from 2015 to 2023.

The facade is currently getting a lick of new white and burgundy paint, financed by the sale of raffle tickets.

Pope Leo, who recently underwent surgery for lung cancer, will wrap up his first Latin American tour in Peru, after visiting Uruguay and Argentina.

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The mere fact of the US-born pontiff entering Zana means "we are already more than blessed," she told AFP.

"The Holy Father holds Zana dear," Edinson Farfan, the pope's successor as bishop of the city of Chiclayo near Zana, told AFP during a visit to inspect the town's preparations.

"Everyone wants to showcase the best" of the ill-starred town, Farfan added.

- 'Coming home' -

Born and raised in Chicago, Leo became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 after living in the country for almost two decades.

He left a profound mark on the Andean nation, which adopted him as one of its own.

In Zana, he was a regular visitor for the feast of Saint Toribio on April 27, among other events.

"The Pope is coming home," Colchado said, echoing sentiments expressed in Chiclayo since Leo was named leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics last year.

Hundreds of Vatican flags have been ordered to festoon homes in Zana for his visit.

Rosario Cossio, head of the town's Afro-Peruvian Museum, said that Zana's reputation for being cursed was linked to the murder of a priest during the colonial era.

After the cleric's death, Zana "was not considered suitable for Catholic sacraments," she told AFP.

In spite of, or perhaps because of its history, the town these days is a wellspring of devotion.

Huge posters depicting Saint Toribio and Leo XIV adorn the walls of the town hall and the main church, where a piece of the saint's tibia is housed as a relic.

A slogan painted on a motorcycle taxi reads: "Christ loves you."

The local Catholic Church has asked residents to open their doors to pilgrims who make the journey for the pope's visit.

Colchado and her family are preparing to host about 30 people in their large, one-story house with ochre walls.

"We are ready," she assured.

• by Gonzalo Torrico (AFP)