ETÉN, Peru (OSV News) -- The election of Pope Leo XIV has renewed hopes in this Indigenous Mochica community on Peru's north coast that an apparent 17th-century miracle involving images of the Divine Child of the Miracle could be recognized by the Vatican.
Thousands of pilgrims visit Etén annually to venerate the Divine Child -- which, according to tradition, appeared to worshippers in a consecrated host at a celebration of the Eucharist on the eve of Corpus Cristi in June 1649. Another reported apparition of the Child Jesus, and later of three small hearts representing the Trinity, occurred the following month during a religious festival.
Paintings of the apparition are displayed in the old chapel of the St. Mary Magdalene parish church in Etén, approximately 10 miles from Chiclayo -- the city Pope Leo served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.
A statue of the Divine Child of the Miracle, wearing a traditional straw hat and set in at the center of the sun with rays beaming outward -- an important symbol in the Mochica's pre-Inca civilization -- sits in the parish sanctuary, where locals and pilgrims come to pray.
"The apparition of the child in a holy Communion host begins a very particular devotion to the Christ Child," said Father Daniel Principe, parish pastor.
"The Christ Child with his diminutive size, his small heart of love, of mercy -- which cares for the Indigenous communities, the poor, the simple of heart -- spread throughout this entire northern region so much so that pilgrims from all regions of Peru come to visit and pray before the image of the Divine Child," Father Principe told OSV News.
Pope Leo was among the many coming to venerate the Divine Child. Then-Bishop Robert F. Prevost helped start the process of formally recognizing what the faithful believe is a Eucharistic miracle in Etén, delivering a document to the Vatican in 2019, which included more than 20,000 testimonials.
The bishop's promotion of the cause of this apparent miracle showed his appreciation for popular piety, which is widespread in Peru and much of Latin America.
"This is further proof of his closeness to the people and their way of living the faith," Veronique Lecaros, head of the theology department at Peru's Pontifical Catholic University, told OSV News.
"He celebrated Mass here. He preached here. And he always shared in the patron saint's feasts here. He especially wanted this miraculous event of the apparition of the child in the holy Communion host to be known throughout Peru," Father Principe said. "He was one of the great promoters of this apparition's recognition and of ensuring that pilgrims here would always be spiritually attended to."
Locals have long believed that Etén should be known as a Eucharistic city. "Achieving official recognition means being recognized as the first in the Americas and the only Eucharistic miracle in Peru, with subsequent and ongoing dissemination from the Vatican as a global pilgrimage site," according to a 2023 news story published by the Peruvian bishops' conference.
Earlier reports said that the diocese was planning to build the Eucharistic Shrine of the Divine Child of the Miracle in Etén, which would be the first Eucharistic shrine in the country.
"The Eucharistic miracle is a gift for all Peru," Pope Leo said in 2022, according to the news agency AFP. "Building this new shrine is a task for all of us. It's a dream we want to make come true."
The pope's presence in Etén is fondly remembered, along with his appreciation of the cause for what has long been held as a Eucharistic miracle.
"He's a very kind-hearted person. He was always willing to offer us his blessings and protection over everything," said Camila Soto, a 14-year-old praying at the St. Mary Magdalene parish.
She spoke of a special devotion to the Divine Child of the Miracle, saying her late father "dedicated me to him," and, "This is a symbol that his love is still there." She added, "I feel like I practically belong to (the Christ Child.)"
