Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Buenos Aires for First Argentine Visit in Decades
Pope Leo XIV has arrived for his first visit to Argentina in around forty years. More than 2.5 million people are said to have attended the Mass in Buenos Aires.
Pope Leo XIV has arrived for his first visit to Argentina in around forty years. The pontiff travelled from Uruguay and landed at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires, where he was received by Argentine President Javier Milei. The stay lasts until Wednesday, 11 June, and ends with a closing Mass at the Basilica of Luján, before the Pope continues from Ezeiza airport to Lima in Peru.
The programme is tightly scheduled. On Monday, 9 June, the Pope visits the Kottolengo Don Orione in Claypole and then celebrates a Mass at the Monumento de los Españoles in the Palermo district. For this Mass in Buenos Aires, reports cite more than 2.5 million participants. The exact figures are, however, disputed, and the estimates from different sources diverge. On Tuesday a Mass is scheduled at the Military Aviation School in the province of Córdoba, as well as a youth vigil in the Palermo district. On Wednesday a visit to the Devoto prison is planned before the stay concludes with the closing Mass in Luján.
The visit also carries particular political significance. A bilateral meeting with President Milei at the Casa Rosada government seat is planned. According to reports, a handover of the keys to the city of Buenos Aires is also envisaged. In the Palacio Libertad, a government venue, the Pope is set to deliver a speech; the event was organised by the office of Karina Milei. Vice President Victoria Villarruel has also been invited, although there are political differences between her and the government. According to reports, all provincial governors have confirmed their attendance.
The programme at the Palacio Libertad is aimed at a broad audience: representatives of the diplomatic corps, religious leaders and representatives of the workforce are expected. Coverage frames the visit as a challenge for Milei with regard to the rights of people with disabilities and the rights of workers. This is not explicitly named in the programme itself, but emerges from the framing of the reports.
How clearly the Pope will criticise government policy cannot be definitively derived from the available information. The question remains one of interpretation. Observers will therefore focus above all on the wording of the speech at the Palacio Libertad and on the encounter with President Milei, the content of which is not yet available in detail.
Source: ilmessaggero.it
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