The key facts
- Around 650,000 people at the Mass in Córdoba on 10 November; the day before in Buenos Aires — an estimated 2.5 million
- The pope appeared on the same balcony of the archbishop's residence from which John Paul II greeted the city in 1987
- A Mass in Luján is scheduled for 11 November, after which the pope flies to Peru, where his statue has already been unveiled in Callao
Córdoba welcomes the pope after almost 40 years
On Tuesday, 10 November 2026, around 650,000 people gathered for a Mass led by Pope Leo XIV in the central Argentine city of Córdoba. The service took place at the Military Aviation School. It came a day after the pontiff's visit to Buenos Aires, where an estimated 2.5 million people came out to greet him — according to Euronews, a record turnout in the capital. Córdoba was chosen as the venue because of its central location: the city had not hosted a pope for almost 40 years. The faithful travelled to the service from far away — from the country's far north, from Patagonia in the south and from the regions in between. For instance, religious education teachers from Santa Cruz province, Erica Vignales and Elena Llanquenao, covered 2,000 kilometres.
A call to follow the example of Argentina's saints
In his homily, Leo XIV called on Argentines to follow the example of the country's best-known saints — the 'gaucho priest' José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and 'Mama Antula', who in 2024 became Argentina's first female saint; both were canonised by Pope Francis. 'All of us are called to holiness,' the pontiff said. 'These saints and blesseds have already fulfilled their mission on Earth. Today it is our turn to follow the shining example of holiness they left us.' After the Mass, the pope unexpectedly appeared on the balcony of the archbishop's residence in central Córdoba — the very one from which John Paul II greeted the city in 1987. Thousands of people chanting 'León, León' filled the street below, and the pope told them: 'Together we can do everything.' On his X account, Leo XIV wrote that his visit to Argentina has a special meaning: for twelve years the universal Church listened to the voice of Pope Francis, who kept in his memory and heart the places, the people and the faith he received here.
What's next: Luján and Peru
The Mass in Córdoba was the second-to-last stop of the visit: on Wednesday, 11 November, the pope will celebrate his final Mass in the city of Luján and leave Argentina the same day, heading for Peru. The pontiff, born in the United States, holds Peruvian citizenship and is returning to the country where he spent many years as a missionary and bishop. Preparations for his arrival there are already under way: in the port city of Callao, about 15 km from Lima, a giant statue of Leo XIV has been unveiled, and at Jorge Chávez Airport, Monsignor Paolo Rocco Gualtieri blessed the papal plane and its crew on the eve of his arrival. Separately, Euronews recalls that a few days earlier in Montevideo, at the Catholic University of Uruguay, the pope warned about the 'dehumanisation' caused by artificial intelligence, stressing the need for an education that 'puts the human being before the algorithm'.
