Relatives of people killed in Peru’s 2022–2023 anti-government protests asked Pope Leo XIV on Thursday 12 November 2026 for an audience during his visit to the country. They want to meet the pontiff in the Andean city of Cusco, where he stops on Sunday 15 November, but the programme published by the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office lists no such meeting.
Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago according to the Vatican’s website, spent years in Peru as a missionary and bishop, and his visit runs until Monday 16 November. In their open letter, the families say they want truth, justice and dignity, and guarantees that no other family suffers what they did, according to EFE, the Spanish news agency.
—Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 53.9 points (November 2026 edition).
—Who. Relatives of people killed in Peru’s 2022–2023 protests, which left dozens dead.
—What. An open letter asks Pope Leo XIV for an audience; no Vatican answer found.
—Where and when. Cusco, Sunday 15 November; the programme lists a crowd event and a prayer.
—Prosecutors. The special team that investigated the protest deaths was deactivated on 6 January 2026.
Several groups of victims have written to the pope. Only a meeting with survivors of church abuse has been reported as confirmed.
What Happened
The letter asks for a meeting during the pope’s short stop in Cusco, EFE reported in a dispatch carried by ABC Color, a Paraguayan daily, on 12 November. The protests of December 2022 to early 2023 followed the failed self-coup of then-president Pedro Castillo, and at least 50 people died, allegedly from police and army gunfire, EFE said.
Most deaths happened in southern Andean cities near Cusco such as Huamanga, Andahuaylas and Juliaca, EFE said. Prosecutors have not formalised charges in any of the cases, the agency added, and Prosecutor General Tomás Gálvez abolished the special team created to investigate the security forces.
That special prosecutors’ team, known as EFICAVIP, was deactivated on Tuesday 6 January 2026, according to La República, a Lima daily. Relatives in Juliaca rejected the decision at the time and announced protests.
Juliaca, in Peru’s Puno region, one of the southern cities where protest deaths were recorded.Who Else Is Asking
La República reported on Tuesday 10 November that the Vatican has confirmed a meeting in Lima with victims of abuse by Catholic clergy, without saying who will attend. Asked about those who will not be received, the Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Carlos Castillo, asked for “patience” on La República’s programme Sin Guión.
The same day, seven lawmakers wrote to the pope asking him to receive survivors of the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, a Catholic lay movement dissolved by the Vatican. They also asked him to hear peasants from the town of Catacaos, in the northern Piura region, and relatives of people who died in the protests, Infobae, a Latin American news site, reported.
The letter, signed by three senators and four deputies, says the Church should not replace Peru’s courts but offer a gesture of closeness. The National Human Rights Coordinator, a Peruvian coalition of rights groups, backed the request.
Why It Matters
The Vatican programme gives Cusco three hours and five minutes on Sunday 15 November, from landing at 10:00 to departure at 13:05. Peru time is the same as US Eastern time this week.
The programme fills that window with a gathering with the faithful at the Saqsaywaman archaeological park at 10:30 and the Angelus, a midday Catholic prayer, at 11:45. Neither slot is described as a meeting with victims’ families, so any audience would have to be added.
Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, spent more than 20 years in Peru as missionary and bishop, Infobae reported. We covered his youth vigil in Lima earlier this week, and the background to the protests is in our Peru coverage.
What Is Not Known
The Vatican has not publicly answered the families’ letter, and we found no announcement that a meeting has been added. The Vatican’s own programme does not list the Lima meeting with abuse victims, and who will attend is not confirmed.
What to Watch Next
Watch the Holy See’s programme for Cusco on Sunday 15 November, the day the families want to be heard, and any change announced before then. The programme has the pope leaving Peru for Rome on Monday 16 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have Peru’s protest victims asked to meet Pope Leo XIV?
Yes. Relatives of people killed in the 2022–2023 protests asked for an audience in an open letter on 12 November, proposing a meeting during his Cusco stop, which the programme sets for Sunday 15 November.
Is a meeting with the families on the pope’s programme?
Not in the published programme. It lists a gathering with the faithful at 10:30 and the Angelus prayer at 11:45 in Cusco, and we found no Vatican reply.
How many people died in Peru’s 2022–2023 protests?
EFE reports at least 50 deaths, allegedly from police and army gunfire. Prosecutors have not formalised charges in any of the cases, according to the agency.
Sources: Holy See Press Office, programme of the apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru; Vatican, Leo XIV page; EFE via ABC Color, 12 November 2026; La República, 10 November 2026; La República, 6 January 2026; Infobae, 10 November 2026.