Peruvian priest in Baltimore crossed paths with Pope Leo

As a Peruvian missionary priest, Father Matteo Dal Bianco joined fellow Peruvians in celebrating the May 8 election of a missionary to Peru as pope.

Father Dal Bianco grew up in Llamellin and was ordained three years ago for the Diocese of Huarí. Now associate pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in Baltimore, he recalls brief encounters with then-Bishop Robert Prevost, the missionary from Chicago who led the Diocese of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, before becoming head of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.

Father Dal Bianco said he was in meetings with then-Bishop Prevost two or three times, “but I never had the opportunity to speak to him personally.” He is part of the youth-focused volunteer movement Operation Matto Grosso, which began in Peru and has ties to Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg and other parts of Maryland.

“I know for a fact that my bishop, (Auxiliary Bishop) Giorgio Barbetta (apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Huarí) knows (Pope Leo) well, and that he has a bond not only ecclesial with the new pope, but also of friendship,” Father Dal Bianco said.

Fellow Peruvians describe the new pope as good, humble and “not so much of a ‘stage’ man,” Father Dal Bianco added. “Over the years Pope Leo won the esteem of the people of Peru, being with the people, sharing with them. It was a great feast for Peruvians to know that one of their bishops is the pope today.”

He acknowledges the challenges facing the new pope, especially in a time when “the faith is decaying and we no longer have the courage of the first Christians to defend God with our lives.” He worries that the church “has lost its way … has lost the simple faith behind so many words and complications of man.”

“I hope (Pope Leo) can remain that simple man who knew how to be with the people,” Father Dal Bianco said, “who knew how to listen and help.”

He added: “It is up to us to lend him a hand and roll up our sleeves to work.”