As part of the celebrations on Thursday, Chiclayo's acting bishop Edinson Farfán celebrated mass and blessed the sculpture. He asked Leo XIV to "always protect us with his blessing and to always accompany us".
The statue, which is around six metres high, is made of white plastic and weighs around 500 kilos.
It was designed by Peruvian artist Juan Carlos Ñañake. It stands at a roundabout at the southern entrance to the city of Chiclayo, which the local authorities plan to rename the "Papal Oval".
It is part of a new tourist route called "Ways of Pope Leo XIV", which will include 38 places of interest in four provinces where Leo left his mark during his time in Peru.
Leo "a Peruvian"
The governor of the Lambayeque region, Jorge Pérez Flores, announced the erection of the statue in the summer.
On the occasion of its unveiling, he emphasised that Pope Leo XIV "is a Peruvian who has walked with us and is certainly always with us with his prayers for the well-being of the Peruvian people".
Leo had addressed the faithful of the Chiclayo diocese in the main loggia of St Peter's Basilica during the first speech after his election as Pope on 8 May, assuring them of his closeness.
Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV's real name, had worked in Peru for many years, first as a missionary of the Augustinian Order and from 2015 to 2023 as Bishop of Chiclayo, before being appointed Prefect of the Vatican's Episcopal Dicastery.
Since 2015, he has held Peruvian as well as US citizenship.