Susana Baca, the Latin Grammy-winning Afro-Peruvian singer, welcomed Pope Leo XIV to Peru with a performance that underscored the significance of his visit in bringing international attention to the country's African-descended community and its cultural heritage.

Baca, Peru's first Black Cabinet minister, has also been a prominent voice in the fight against racial discrimination and the marginalization of Black and Indigenous communities, which have long faced systemic inequalities.

Leo, who was born in the United States and has both enslaved people and slave owners in his family history, is expected to shine a spotlight on Peru's African-descended population when he visits Zana, a historic center of Afro-Peruvian culture, on Saturday.

The pope will lead a prayer service at the sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, a place he frequently visited during his time as bishop of nearby Chiclayo.

Mogrovejo, who became Lima's first archbishop in the 16th century, was known for defending the rights of Indigenous people and enslaved Africans. He also confirmed St. Martin de Porres, the first Black saint in the Americas, who is revered as a patron of racial harmony, social justice and people of mixed racial backgrounds.

In his first encyclical, "Magnificent Humanity," Leo issued a sweeping apology for the role of past popes in legitimizing slavery and failing to condemn it for centuries. The document referred to a series of 15th-century Vatican directives that authorized European sovereigns to conquer Africa and the Americas and enslave non-Christians.

"It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord," Leo wrote. "For this, in the name of the church, I sincerely ask for pardon."

An estimated 100,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Peru after the arrival of Spanish conquistadors. They were forced to work on sugar plantations and in silver mines, while others became urban artisans. At one point, enslaved Africans and their descendants accounted for more than 40% of Lima's population.

Black Peruvians now make up a small fraction of the country's 35 million people. However, they have continued to face barriers to advancement more than 170 years after emancipation.

Peru's 2017 national census recorded 1,311 people in Zana who identified as Afro-Peruvian. Across the Lambayeque region, the figure was 78,639.

Baca told The Associated Press that she felt a connection with the pope because of the importance he has placed on seeking forgiveness for historical injustices.

"I believe that one of the most important things in the history of Afro-Peruvians is that we did not remain submerged despite our history of suffering," she said. "We are an Afro-Peruvian people who have learned to forgive."

"And perhaps this is what connects me, in my conscience, to the pope. I feel that in all his homilies and teachings, the pope emphasizes the importance of asking for forgiveness and forgiving, that the injustices of many moments in history are less painful if we have the capacity to forgive and to be forgiven."

She said she chose to perform "Cancion de Fe" ("Song of Faith") and "Si me quitaran totalmente todo" ("If Everything Were Taken From Me") for the pope because the songs embody the same notion of faith that Leo shares.

Zana, a historic town in northern Peru's Chiclayo province, was recognized by UNESCO in 2017 as a "site of memory of slavery and African cultural heritage." Peru's government says the designation was the first of its kind granted to a Peruvian Afro-descendant community or comparable communities along South America's Pacific coast.

"There are communities capable of withstanding any blow, even seven El Nino weather phenomena, or the even harsher, more perverse blows dealt by the darkest side of humanity, such as slavery," former Culture Minister Salvador del Solar said during a ceremony in Zana's main square.

"Communities like Zana can truly say that no blow has ever been strong enough to break them completely; they continue to reaffirm their Afro-descendant identity with pride."

The Afro-descendant community is celebrating the return of Leo, their former bishop, and is particularly proud of Baca's performance before the first pope with Black ancestry.

"I'm so proud to see an Afro-Peruvian person singing to the pope, and to know that Black blood courses through his veins," said Felipe Gutierrez, a local chef and poet known as Frontado.

"That the pope has Afro-descendant blood is also a source of pride for Zana because Zana identifies with the Afros," said Gutierrez, who writes and improvises in the Peruvian poetic art form known as decimas.

All four of Leo's maternal great-grandparents were classified as "free people of color" in 19th-century census records in Louisiana. As descendants of the state's French, Spanish, African and Native American communities, the pope's maternal ancestors would be considered Creole.

Zana is home to an Afro-Peruvian museum featuring a collection of historical photographs, plantation carts and percussion instruments of African origin from Peru, Cuba and Brazil. The museum also houses documents concerning enslaved people and some of the shackles used to restrain them.

One of its walls displays photographs of Leo during his visits to the town as bishop. There are also large framed photographs of Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States, and Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid leader.

"We pay homage to them here in Zana," Gutierrez said during a recent visit to the museum, wearing a Chicago Bulls shirt bearing Michael Jordan's iconic No. 23. Chicago is where Leo was born.

"They show us how someone who is Black as we are in Zana became a president, and we're proud because we all deserve the same rights," Gutierrez said. "Black, Indigenous, all of us are equal in the eyes of God."