Overview
- The Seminario Arquidiocesano San Antonio Abad confirmed that Archbishop Richard Alarcón Urrutia died on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026.
- Alarcón had been due to receive Pope León XIV in Cusco on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, according to the itinerary issued by the Conferencia Episcopal Peruana.
- A Franciscan with decades of service, he was ordained a priest in 1976, became bishop of Tarma in 2001, led Cáritas del Perú from 2012, and was named archbishop of Cusco by Pope Francis in October 2014 before taking office in January 2015.
- Local church bodies and public institutions have issued condolences and praised his pastoral work, and the archdiocese has not yet published funeral arrangements or an official statement on changes to the papal visit.
- The death will require near-term administrative and liturgical adjustments in the archdiocese and could prompt formal guidance from the Vatican or the national bishops' conference on who will lead ceremonies and how the November program is handled.