Chiclayo, Peru --- It is a long way from the South Side of Chicago to the heart of Chiclayo in Northern Peru.

But it was a simple phrase, spoken on a balcony in the Vatican by the first American pope , that has turned Chiclayo into a sensation.

"A greeting to everyone, and in particular to my beloved Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people has accompanied its bishop, shared its faith and given so much, so much, to continue being a faithful church of Jesus Christ.," Pope Leo XIV said from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on May 8 after being chosen by the cardinal electors in the papal enclave to succeed Pope Francis.

Leo, a Chicago native who turned 70 on Sunday , is also a citizen of Peru, where he served for more than two decades, first as a

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