The key facts

  • First papal trip to Argentina since John Paul II in 1987
  • The visit will last four days as part of a 12-day tour that began in Uruguay and will conclude in Peru
  • At the meeting with Milei, the pope said that 'the economy must serve the person'

Airport welcome and city illumination

Argentine President Javier Milei greeted Pope Leo XIV at Jorge Newbery Airport: the leaders shook hands and then stood side by side on the red carpet during an official ceremony featuring the national guard, euronews reports. On the tarmac, the pontiff also greeted Karina Milei — the president's sister and the cabinet chief of staff — the senior clergy of Argentina, and a group of children and young people. In the evening, the Obelisk in Buenos Aires was lit with a projection of the pontiff's face — the first activation of large-scale illumination of the city's monuments and facades: from Floralis Genérica and the Planetarium to the Teatro Colón and the Cabildo, all bathed in the yellow and white colors of the Vatican.

Historical context of the visit

The four-day visit is the first papal trip to Argentina since John Paul II in 1987. It is the second leg of a 12-day tour that began in Uruguay and will conclude in Peru. The trip carries special resonance because Argentina is the homeland of Leo XIV's predecessor, Pope Francis, who never returned to his native country during his 12-year pontificate.

Statement on the economy

The meeting with Milei, whose austerity policies have reshaped the country's economy, underscored the difference in approaches: according to euronews, the pope said that 'the economy must serve the person.' In the Russian-language version of the same report, the quote is given with a distortion ('the economy must serve the person, not the person'), so the exact wording of the statement remains unclear based on these publications.