The key facts

  • About 2.5 million people at the open-air Mass in Buenos Aires — the largest event of the pontificate
  • The pope called on Milei to protect the vulnerable amid cuts to services for people with disabilities
  • The day was declared a national holiday; next — Peru, return to Rome on November 17

The largest event of the pontificate

About 2.5 million people, according to local authorities' estimates, attended the open-air Mass of Pope Leo XIV in Buenos Aires on Monday — the largest gathering of his pontificate. Crowds stretched for miles along Avenida del Libertador; the faithful waved Vatican flags and shouted Deutsche Welle.

Appeal regarding Milei's policies

Before the Mass, Leo XIV visited the Cottolengo Don Orione center in Claypole, south of the capital, where more than 400 people with disabilities live and which, according to DW, has suffered from government cuts to health care and social services. The pope told the residents that their lives are a blessing, not a burden, and challenged the idea that economic success alone measures a country's achievements: reinforced his appeal on Sunday, at a reception attended by Milei, where he called for economic growth to benefit those facing the greatest hardship, and for leaders to choose their words carefully and be mindful of the limits of their power. In his homily he spoke about families facing precarious employment, violence, and addictions, calling them the backbone of society.

Context of the visit

According to Deutsche Welle, over roughly three years of Milei's rule, his government has cut services for people with disabilities and failed to implement the law increasing care funding, even though Congress in 2025 overrode the president's veto; in the coming days the Senate is to consider funding for the next year. The visit marked the first visit by a pope to Argentina in almost four decades: Leo's predecessor, Francis, although born in Argentina, never returned to his homeland during his pontificate. The 71-year-old Leo, before Argentina — where he arrived on Sunday — visited Uruguay, will travel to Peru on Wednesday, and return to Rome on November 17. He spent decades in Peru as a missionary and bishop, and the Vatican called the South American tour surgery to remove a malignant lung tumor.