What began as an unexpected family reunion in Peru has become an initiative that now carries the hopes of an entire people. Father Juan Carlos Silva Yacila, HSA, the Peruvian priest of San Leonardo Parish in Porto Maurizio on the outskirts of Rome, dreams that Pope Leo XIV will bless the historic Cross of Evangelisation — also known as the Cross of Christianity or the Cross of the Conquest — during his announced visit to Peru. According to the historical tradition of Tumbes, this relic is closely linked to the first steps of evangelization in Peruvian territory and to the awakening of faith in the Inca Empire.
The request comes from the priest’s deep connection to his homeland and his conviction that this cross is not just an old relic of the past, but a living symbol of faith, identity, and hope for new generations.“I had the grace to touch the Cross, to pray before it and contemplate it. Spontaneously, I began to pray for my people: for families, the sick, children, young people, the elderly, fishermen, farmers, professionals, and for all those simple people who work every day to build a more fraternal and just Tumbes,” he told.
“Then a question arose that I still carry in my heart: how can we make the world aware of the Cross that my town has guarded for almost 500 years? For a long time it has remained almost hidden, waiting for the moment to speak to our people again with the power of its message. Many people from Tumbes are even unaware of its existence, and I believe the time has come to rediscover its true meaning for the Cross and for all of Peru.”
A native of the Tumbes region, Father Silva explains that various historical sources and oral tradition place the landing of Francisco Pizarro and his expeditionaries in 1532 in the area of the current district of La Cruz, after clashes in the estuary of La Chepa, now Playa Hermosa, an episode known as the Battle of the Mangroves.According to this tradition, it was there that the first Christian cross was erected in the territory of the ancient Tahuantinsuyo, on Buenaventura Hill in the district of La Cruz, Tumbes. It became one of the first visible signs of the arrival of the Gospel to these lands.
For more than three centuries, the Cross remained on Buenaventura Hill, where it was originally placed.However, in 1842 it was moved to the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes church in Piura to protect it from humidity and the elements. Decades later, in 1907, during an official visit to Tumbes, then-President José Pardo y Barreda learned of the relic and ordered its transfer to the National Museum of History in Lima, where it remained under state custody.For almost 150 years, the Cross remained far from the place where its story began.Only after sustained efforts by authorities and representatives from Tumbes did the Ministry of Education authorize its return. Finally, on August 18, 1990, the Cross returned to Tumbes, ending 148 years of absence and reuniting with the people who, for generations, had considered it a fundamental part of their identity.Today the relic is kept in the “Víctor Andrés Belaúnde” Municipal Library in the district of La Cruz, where it can be visited by the faithful, pilgrims, and researchers.