Stories

By Ines San Martin

As the world gets to know Pope Leo XIV, many are beginning to see him not just as the first American-born pope, but as something even more significant: the first pope in modern history whose ministry was shaped primarily by life in mission territory. For missionary Cate Broadbent, this is more than symbolic—it’s deeply personal.

“I was so excited when I heard who had been elected,” Broadbent said on the Frontiers of Faith podcast. “Yes, he’s from the United States. But what really struck me was—he’s a missionary. We have a missionary pope.”

Cate served with Family Missions Company in rural Peru, in areas not unlike those where Pope Leo (then Father and Bishop Robert Prevost) lived and ministered for decades. “He may have been born in the U.S., but his priesthood was forged in the mission fields of Peru,” she said. “He’s not just bringing an American perspective to the papacy. He’s bringing a missionary one.”

That distinction matters.

Peru is a country of extremes—geographically diverse, economically uneven, and spiritually rich, yet in many areas pastorally underserved. In the cities of Lima, Arequipa, or Trujillo, colonial cathedrals and deep-rooted Catholic traditions reflect centuries of evangelization. But in the remote Andes and the Amazon basin, entire communities go months without seeing a priest. There are places where people can only access Mass once a year—if the weather and roads cooperate.

“The reality in those places is very different from what most Americans know,” Broadbent explained. “You don’t drive 30 minutes to the parish of your preference. You might not be able to get to Mass at all, and even if it comes to your village, you might not be able to attend. People are literally living day-to-day, and missing work to go to church can mean no food on the table.”

She added, “That’s the Church Pope Leo XIV knows. That’s the reality he has lived.”

Before his election, Pope Leo served in Chiclayo—Peru’s fourth-largest city—but his diocese encompassed dozens of surrounding rural districts, many of them difficult to access. His fluency in Spanish and Quechua, the most widely spoken Indigenous language in the Andes, reflected his deep immersion in the lives of the people he served.

“I read that he had learned Quechua, and I wasn’t surprised,” said Broadbent. “He’s loved in that region because he understands the people—from the cathedral in the city to the most isolated communities in the mountains.”

The Church in Peru, particularly in the Amazon and rural highlands, continues to wrestle with how to meet the pastoral needs of its people with very limited priestly vocations and daunting terrain. In recent decades, Protestant and Evangelical sects—many with strong missionary funding—have moved into the gaps, especially where Catholic infrastructure is thin. In this context, the sacramental life of the Church often depends on the ability of laypeople to build and sustain communities of faith.

“That’s why Pope Leo’s missionary experience matters,” Broadbent emphasized. “He’s not someone who only knows the Church from chancery offices or theological seminars. He knows what it means to be the Church where there’s no paved road, where there’s no priest coming next week—or next month.”

This experience has already colored his early papacy. In his first address as pope, Leo XIV spoke of communion, participation, and mission—the three pillars of synodality emphasized by Pope Francis, but lived by Leo for decades. “He comes from a Church that has already been practicing this kind of synodality,” Broadbent said. “Where laity aren’t just involved—they’re essential.”

Her hope for Pope Leo’s pontificate is rooted in his missionary heart. “He’s so clearly Christocentric. He began his papacy with the words of Christ: ‘Peace be with you.’ I think he’s going to bring a new energy to the New Evangelization—one shaped by service, humility, and the courage to go to the margins.”

As someone who now works in missionary media, Broadbent is also thrilled by the pope’s early attention to digital evangelization. “He’s already talking about artificial intelligence, media, and the internet. In Latin America, people are doing incredible things—like WhatsApp Bible studies and remote spiritual guidance for jungle communities. I’m excited to see him bring that missionary creativity to the global Church.”

In Pope Leo XIV, Broadbent sees a leader formed not by privilege but by presence. “He’s cooked with the poor, learned their languages, walked their roads, and heard their cries. That changes you,” she said. “And now, it may just change the Church.”