Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Here is the long-awaited image: Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Argentina, Pope Francis’s homeland.
He was greeted by the President of the Republic, Javier Milei, at the Buenos Aires airport. And so the welcome ceremony began...
A group gathered at the foot of the papal plane. Some people couldn't hold back their tears:
His first stop in the capital was at this monument—the one dedicated to José San Martín—where he paid tribute to the man considered the Father of the Argentine Nation.
From there, Pope Leo XIV traveled to the Casa Rosada, the seat of the executive branch. As is customary, the pope held a private meeting with the country’s leader.
This event was the highlight of the pope’s first day in Argentina. And if there was one thing everyone expected, it was a tribute to Pope Francis. Both Milei and Pope Leo XIV paid such a tribute.
JAVIER MILEI
I’d like to begin by remembering our beloved Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis, the most... Without a doubt, the most important Argentine in history and the first Latin American pope.
POPE LEO XIV
Today, as I succeed him in the Petrine ministry, I am, in a sense, retracing my steps and returning to the homeland where Pope Francis began a story that would later become intertwined with that of the entire Church.
Pope Leo XIV thus fulfilled the task that Pope Francis had left unfinished. His predecessor never returned to his homeland after becoming pope in 2013. Nearly 40 years later, following Pope John Paul II, a pontiff returned to Argentina.
