Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday, the first papal visit to Argentina in 39 years, and in his first address to the authorities, with President Javier Milei at his side, said that “the economy must be at the service of the person, and not the person at the service of the economy”, urged those in authority to “recognise the limits of power” and called for “special attention” to the sick and people with disabilities.
The pontiff arrived from Montevideo and was greeted at the foot of the plane by Milei, with whom he held a 30-minute private meeting at the Casa Rosada. At dusk, at the Palacio Libertad, before national and provincial authorities, religious representatives and diplomats, the Pope championed a democracy strengthened “by a willingness to listen, care in the use of words, the patient search for agreements and the ability to recognise in those who think differently a compatriot with whom one shares a common destiny”. “Those who exercise authority also have a duty to act prudently, recognise the limits of the power entrusted to them and direct their decisions towards the good of the whole community,” he added.
Leo XIV referred to “families who carry the burden of uncertainty”, those looking for work, the elderly and those who, even while working, struggle to meet their household needs. “A nation must ask itself seriously where it has failed when its young people must leave their land to fulfil their dreams,” he said, calling for “particular strengthening of education, vocational training, universities and research”. Reiterating his opposition to abortion, legal in Argentina since 2020, he also called for “special attention in illness, dependency and disability”.
The Pope did not mention Milei or the government, but several passages were read by the Argentine press as allusions to criticism of the president over his cuts to education, disability and pensions and the tone of his attacks on opponents. Argentina’s Catholic hierarchy has been one of the most critical voices against the government’s austerity policies.
Milei, who spoke before the Pope, gave a restrained speech, far from his usual tone. “I am pleased to see the entire political spectrum here, showing that there are reasons and occasions that go beyond our differences,” he said, and described Pope Francis, whom he had harshly criticised in the past, as “the most important Argentine in history”. Francis, who died last year, never returned to his country during his pontificate.
Authorities expect some seven million people to take part in the Pope’s events in Argentina, supported by more than 25,000 volunteers. On Monday, a national holiday, Leo XIV will visit the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione, a home for people with disabilities in Claypole, celebrate Mass at the Monument of the Spaniards in Palermo, and meet trade unionists, business leaders and social movements at the Catholic University of Argentina.