Cusco Archbishop Alarcón Dies Before Leo XIV Visit
Coadjutor Lizardo Estrada takes the see as the faithful mourn and Peru readies a Nov. 15 gathering at Sacsayhuamán.
Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco died on Friday, October 30, 2026, at the age of 74 after a battle with cancer. The Archdiocese of Cusco announced the death with deep sadness, joining the grief of his family and loved ones at an irreparable loss and asking the faithful to pray for the eternal rest of his soul.
His body lay in state at Cusco Cathedral, where hundreds of faithful came to pay their respects.
Papal Visit Days Away
The death comes shortly before Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Peru, scheduled for November 11 to 16. The Holy Father is due in Cusco on Sunday, November 15, for a large gathering at the Sacsayhuamán archaeological park and a prayer ceremony in the Plaza de Armas. A Vatican commission preparing the visit had been in Cusco shortly before the archbishop’s death. He had not taken part in the committee as he usually did, though he had led coordination of the papal visit in recent months despite his health.
Successor Already Named
Coadjutor Archbishop Lizardo Estrada, a member of the Augustinian order, now fully assumes leadership of the archdiocese. He had been named coadjutor only weeks earlier, in late August or about six weeks before the death, ensuring continuity of pastoral governance in the imperial city.
Born in Lima on April 10, 1952, Richard Alarcón joined the Franciscans in 1969, made solemn profession on May 15, 1976, and was ordained a priest on December 8, 1976. By indult he left the Franciscans on April 20, 1993, and was incardinated in the Diocese of Tarma. Pope John Paul II named him bishop of Tarma on June 13, 2001. He was elected president of Cáritas Peru in 2012. Pope Francis appointed him archbishop of Cusco on October 27, 2014; he took possession on January 3, 2015. From 2018 to 2025 he chaired the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.
About three-quarters of Cusco’s population identifies as indigenous Quechua. In death as in life, the archbishop leaves a local Church preparing to welcome the Successor of Peter, with the faithful urged to entrust his soul to the mercy of God.