Future Pope Leo XIV embraced synodality, female leadership as bishop in Peru

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Future Pope Leo XIV embraced synodality, female leadership as bishop in Peru
Long before Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality, then-Bishop Robert Prevost allowed women to lead synodal commissions in his Peru diocese, according to a report.



Cardinal Robert Prevost, during a Synod 2023 press conference
Michael Haynes

Fri Jul 24, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — A new report published this week by the heterodox National Catholic Reporter (NCR) featuring interviews from members of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, sheds new light on how then-Bishop Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo XIV, implemented synodality and embraced women taking on leadership roles during his tenure as ordinary.

The July 21 report recounted that, upon his arrival in the Chiclayo in 2014, first as apostolic administrator of the diocese, seven years before Pope Francis’ Vatican opened the Synod on Synodality, Prevost attempted to remedy a deeply divided diocese by forming a “diocesan pastoral animation team” that would become better known by its Spanish acronym EDAP. This group, later described as a “synodal laboratory,” consisted of priests, religious, and lay men and women who traveled through the diocese to listen to each parish’s needs and particularly emphasized the perspective of the laity.

Clerics and laity in Chiclayo described to NCR how Bishop Prevost focused on “listening” to the perspective of the laity and even defended allowing women to lead synodal commissions.

“At that time, Msgr. Robert (Prevost) talked about ‘co-responsibility of the layperson,’” Luis Antonio Zapata, a lay catechist who joined the EDAP in 2018, told NCR.

He added that Prevost would say “the priests are busy with their tasks, get more laypeople in here, because the laity is best able to reach the laity.”

Father Elmer Uchofen, a priest who helped lead the diocese’s synodal process, stressed that Bishop Prevost would often speak and focus on “encounter” and “listening” to the faithful.

“(Prevost) spoke to us about encounter, about needing to listen to later see what path to take,” the priest said.

“His way of being helped a lot, because he was a bishop that knew how to listen and to be patient,” he added. “He would sit in the groups and listen to the people, to everyone: priests, the laity, to the ones that were drifting a bit or had fallen away from the church. In that sense, he was a real pastor.”

Indeed, since his election as 267th pontiff last year, Leo has repeatedly highlighted in continuity with his predecessor, Pope Francis, his belief that the Church ought to be a “synodal church,” beginning with his first remarks as pontiff.

READ: Pope Leo defends synodality, tells cardinals ‘I need your support: strong, explicit, and public’

“To all of you, brothers and sisters from Rome, from Italy, from all over the world, we want to be a synodal Church, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer,” the newly elected pope said from the loggia.

In an extended interview last fall with Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen for a since-published biography, Leo further stressed continuity with Francis on synodality and other key issues, noting how his time in Peru deepened his connection to the late Argentine pontiff’s outlook.

I believe (the time in Peru) was significant in both my connection with Pope Francis, my understanding of some of the vision that Pope Francis had for the Church, and how we can continue to carry that on in terms of a true prophetic vision for the Church today and tomorrow,” Leo said.

On synodality, Leo was explicit that the “process that began long before the last synod” must continue.

“I think there’s great hope if we can continue to build on the experience of the past couple years and find ways of being Church together,” he said.

READ: Leo XIV vows to ‘continue’ Francis’ ‘prophetic vision’ for the Church

Gladys Calderón, a lay female member of the EDAP who is also involved with the diocese’s Charismatic Renewal, recounted how Prevost had been more welcoming to members of their movement than his predecessor.

“As a movement, we saw ourselves as keeping a certain distance from the diocese, because as a charismatic movement we have a particular way of living (the faith), but Msgr. Roberto shook up that structure and brought us on board to walk together,” she told NCR. “We became more united, more integrated into the diocese, sharing our different charisms — it was a beautiful experience in building unity.”

Another laywoman, Birgit Weiler, a theologian at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, emphasized how Prevost had allowed several women to lead teams that provided “synodal formation” in parishes and even defended allowing this after facing pushback from priests.

“Not all parish priests were so happy when a commission came, led by a woman,” Weiler said, adding that Prevost “fully backed up the women.”

“(Prevost) said, ‘They are prepared as well as the men are and this commission is led by a woman, full stop,'” she said.

As with his emphasis on synodality, the future Pope Leo’s desire to see women take on leadership roles seems to have carried over into his pontificate.

In June, the pontiff named Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado, who currently serves as president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, as the next Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and the first woman to lead a Roman curia office.

Leo has also confirmed Sister Simona Brambilla in her role as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and named her to the Dicastery for Bishops. The pontiff also confirmed Sister Raffaella Petrini and María Lía Zervino, the former president of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, in their roles in this key dicastery.