Church organizers say as many as a million people could turn out for Pope Leo XIV’s first big Mass in Peru, being held Friday morning on a massive field outside Chiclayo, his former diocese. Chiclayo is the commercial hub of Peru’s northern Pacific coast. But much of the world heard about it on the night of Leo’s election, May 8, 2025, when he gave Chiclayo a shoutout, in Spanish, from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. On Friday, he is finally going home and Chiclayo cannot wait.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it destroyed a U.S. early warning radar in Bahrain, marking the first such claim in months. The Guard also reported that a tanker struck a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, causing an explosion. The claims couldn't be independently verified. The Guard's statement says the radar attack was a warning to the U.S. to stop its strikes. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has been a strong critic of Iran. Iran has routinely targeted oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for international oil shipments.

Pope Leo XIV  has denounced the “machismo” and violence against women that is prevalent in Peru. He is demanding that women be protected and respected. After his emotional homecoming Wednesday, the Peruvian pope got down to business Thursday and set out marching orders for the Peruvian church and people. He called the influential Catholic hierarchy to task to be models of unity and communion. And instructed Peruvian bishops especially to accompany their flocks and respond to victims of clergy sexual abuse with truth and justice.