Luján Prepares for Pope Leo XIV's November 11 Mass as Lodging Prices Soar
Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in Luján on November 11, drawing up to two million pilgrims to a city of 95,000. Hotels are fully booked, private lodging prices have reached 14 million pesos, and the municipality is verifying listings while organizing field hospitals, fenced areas, and hundreds of portable toilets.
Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in Luján on November 11, drawing what officials estimate could be at least one million people — and possibly as many as two million — to a city of just 95,000 residents. The scale of the event has already transformed the western Buenos Aires province city, where every hotel room in the urban core is booked and private residents are offering overnight stays at extraordinary prices.
According to Mayor Leonardo Boto, tourist accommodations in the city center are completely full. What remains are informal offers from individuals, sports clubs, and community associations. On rental platforms, a house for four people near the plaza where the Mass will be held is listed at 11 million pesos for the night of November 10, while another property for four people is advertised at more than 14 million pesos. A three-person house sixty blocks from the center costs 1.8 million pesos, and even a tent for two in a garden with shared bathroom facilities is priced at 366,000 pesos.
The municipality has set up a special section on its website where residents can list available lodging. Boto said the city verifies that the property exists and that the contact is real, but does not set or publish prices. «The deal is between whoever offers and whoever is looking for a bed,» he explained. «From community associations and sports clubs to individual residents who may decide to leave the city for those nights or stay with relatives so they can rent out their apartment or house — it is also an opportunity, and we are encouraging that supply,» Boto said.
Luján is no stranger to papal visits. In 1982, during the Falklands War, John Paul II made a brief visit to the city's vast basilica. Jorge Bergoglio, before becoming pope, also celebrated Masses in the same temple, which is central to Argentine Catholicism. The city, located 70 kilometers from Buenos Aires, is now preparing both officially and informally for an unprecedented influx.
Organizers are working at national and provincial levels under a unified command to plan the pope's itinerary. Boto said at least one field hospital — possibly two — will be installed to provide primary health care. Belgrano Plaza, in front of the basilica, and the route the popemobile is expected to take will have fenced «patios» to organize the crowds and prevent a stampede. «It is a way to guarantee that the Holy Father can move among the faithful and also to avoid an avalanche,» the mayor said.
San Martín Park, five blocks from the basilica, will serve as a large food court where local residents can sell meals to visitors. The city's bus terminal, also nearby, will host portable toilets, with an estimated 500 to 600 units installed across Luján — roughly one for every 1,666 people if attendance reaches one million.
The pilgrimage in 2025 already drew between 150,000 and 180,000 people to the city's core at its peak, according to Boto's estimate. The November 11 Mass is expected to multiply that figure several times over. With hotels full and demand still rising, Luján is bracing for a day that will test its infrastructure, its hospitality, and its faith.
3
