Pope Leo XIV leaves Argentina for Peru on Wednesday after a historic visit that put him at odds with President Javier Milei austerity programme on the first papal visit to the country in 39 years. The pope told Argentina growth must benefit all in his first address in Buenos Aires, a pointed counter to Milei libertarian programme, and the applause that followed said the room had heard him.
Why it matters
The visit was historic on its own terms. No pope has set foot in Argentina since John Paul II in 1987, and Francis, the Argentine who preceded Leo, never returned home during his 12 years as pontiff. Leo, 71, is making the trip just three weeks after lung surgery to treat cancer, on a 12 day tour of three countries that will take him from Uruguay to Argentina and on to Peru.
The itinerary was deliberately pastoral. On Monday the pope visited residents and caregivers at the Don Orione centre for people with disabilities in Claypole, and on Tuesday he travelled to Cordoba for Mass before returning to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil. On his final day he will visit the Devoto federal prison and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan, the shrine of the national patroness.
What happens next
The politics were as delicate as the history. Milei greeted the pope at Jorge Newbery airport with his sister Karina Milei, but relations between the government and the Catholic Church have grown tense over three years of austerity, and the archbishop of Buenos Aires has described a wounded and divided Argentina. The pope visit offered a rare chance to gather Argentines around a figure who does not yet belong to either side of their disputes.
What happens next will be decided by whether the visit changes anything beyond the crowds. Peru is the longest and most personal leg of a journey that ends on November 16. For Argentina, the test is whether a pope who spoke about growth for all can help a divided country hear itself, and for Milei, whether he can take the criticism and keep the welcome warm.
