Maria Esther Chozo Reyes, 76, said she had taken a 12-hour bus ride from Lima and arrived Thursday afternoon before she camped overnight. “He knows the people of Chiclayo and he’s lived here, he’s made his mission here,” she told The Associated Press. “We really need his blessing.”

Leo’s sojourn in Chiclayo is midway through the final leg of his 12-day visit to South America, a historic trip that included stops in Argentina and Uruguay. And it’s the most sentimental part of his journey.

For while Leo was born in Chicago and English is his mother tongue, the first words he uttered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica was a shoutout in Spanish to his “beloved Diocese of Chiclayo.”

During his time in that city, Leo often repeated a joke: “Chicago, Chiclayo, what difference is there? Only one letter.”

Setting aside the fact that it’s actually two letters, Leo quickly became a beloved figure in Chiclayo by championing social justice issues, embracing the poor and venturing into the local prison to say Mass.