Today’s guest, Todd Mickelson, is in his 13th year working with the Friends of Chimbote ministry, a faith-based organization dedicated to the men, women, and children living in the barrios of Chimbote, Peru, in extreme poverty.

Currently the development director for the ministry, Todd will share about his brief encounter with Bishop Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo, while in Chimbote in December 2015, but even more, he’ll lead us into the hearts of the Peruvian people he’s met and come to appreciate, connecting us with our new pontiff’s second homeland in South America and our local tie.

 

SHOW NOTES:

• Friends of Chimbote website: https://www.friendsofchimbote.org/

• Roxane’s article on Fargo connections to Pope Leo: https://www.inforum.com/opinion/columns/locals-share-their-encounters-with-pope-leo-xiv

• Roxane’s article on our interconnectedness to Pope Leo: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pope-leo-kevin-bacon-and-you

• Todd’s article on Bishop Folda’s trip to Chimbote in February 2025: https://fargodiocese.net/news/mission-of-mercy

• Article on the three European priest martyrs who were beatified in December 2015 in Chimbote: https://www.ncregister.com/news/beatified-chimbote-martyrs