CHICLAYO, Peru — Walkiria Garcia was 14 years old when she made her confirmation in the Catholic Church, an already significant religious sacrament made even more unforgettable by the man officiating it, Robert Prevost, who decades later would become Pope Leo XIV.

Peruvians were elated Thursday after a Catholic cardinal who spent years guiding the faithful in the South American country and who they see as one of their own was elected pope. Pope Leo XIV is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru,