The Argentinian government tried to boast after their president's meeting with Pope Leo XIV, claiming that the Pope said he would visit the country.
However, what remains unknown is when. And typically, the Pope doesn't accept invitations solely from heads of state — it’s also necessary for the episcopal conference to extend an invitation. However, it is possible that this has already happened informally. It may have been through the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who met with the Pope just days before and then again, after the meeting with the Argentinian president.
What is clear is that the new Pope could choose Argentina as one of his first destinations, especially since Pope Francis never made the trip in his 12 years as pontiff. And if he visits Argentina, he would most likely stop by Peru as well. After all, Peru’s president was the first Latin American head of state received by Pope Leo, and from the very beginning, the Pope has not hidden his affection for his former diocese: Chiclayo.
POPE LEO
And if I may also say a word, a greeting… to everyone, and in a particular way to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.
It’s common for popes to visit multiple countries during long trips, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Pope Leo took advantage of a trip to Argentina or Peru to visit other South American nations as well. For example, Pope Francis never visited Uruguay, and the last papal visit there was in the late 1980s.
On the other hand, many countries in Central America and the Caribbeans are in a similar situation. Nations like Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, or the Dominican Republic, to name a few, have gone decades without a papal visit.
JRB
Trans. CRT
