CÓRDOBA, Argentina — Pope Leo XIV drew an estimated 650,000 people to an outdoor Mass in Córdoba on Tuesday, November 10, as enormous crowds welcomed him during the Argentine leg of his 12-day pastoral journey through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
The congregation gathered at the grounds of the Military Aviation School, at the state-run Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA), where pilgrims pressed against security barriers as the pontiff arrived in an open-air popemobile. Many waved the white-and-yellow colours of the Vatican and chanted, “We love you, Pope Leo.” The Vatican put attendance at approximately 650,000, according to reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press.
The Córdoba gathering came a day after an estimated 2.5 million people attended an outdoor Mass in Buenos Aires, making the two events the largest public gatherings of Leo’s 18-month papacy so far. The scale of the response has underlined the significance of the first papal visit to Argentina since 1987.
Pope Urges Argentines To Follow The Example Of Their Saints
In his homily, Leo described Córdoba as a “land of saints” and called on the faithful to draw inspiration from the men and women whose religious lives and service shaped Argentina’s Catholic tradition.
Among those he highlighted was Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, widely known as the “Gaucho Priest”. Brochero was a 19th-century Argentine priest remembered for travelling through remote communities to serve people living in difficult conditions. Pope Francis canonised him in 2016.
Leo also recalled Mama Antula, the 18th-century religious woman who became Argentina’s first female saint in 2024. Her recognition by the Catholic Church remains an important milestone in the country’s religious history.
The pope’s message was that holiness should not be viewed as something reserved for famous religious figures. He encouraged ordinary people to live out their faith through their daily conduct, service to others and commitment to their communities. The Spanish news agency EFE reported that Leo urged worshippers to open their hearts, become examples through their lives and share the Christian message.
Pilgrims Travel Across Argentina For The Papal Visit
The gathering brought together Catholics from across Argentina, with some travelling long distances to attend. The Associated Press reported that two religious education teachers from Santa Cruz province in Patagonia journeyed approximately 2,000 kilometres to see the pope, while other worshippers travelled from northern provinces.
EFE reported that more than 250,000 people spent the night at the FAdeA site ahead of the Mass. The preparations included a vigil with prayer, music and activities intended to welcome pilgrims arriving from different parts of the country and neighbouring nations.
Córdoba was selected partly because of its central position in Argentina, making it more accessible to pilgrims from different provinces. The city also has deep Catholic roots and a long religious history, including connections to the Jesuit order.
A Visit Carrying The Weight Of Argentina’s History
The pope’s visit has also brought attention to Argentina’s painful political history. During his homily, Leo referred to religious figures killed by the military junta in 1976, a period associated with the beginning of the country’s last dictatorship, which lasted from 1976 to 1983.
The Associated Press reported that Leo’s programme in Córdoba included a private meeting with people representing marginalised communities. Those expected to attend included people involved in soup kitchens, rural workers, advocates for trafficking survivors and a woman whose relatives were abducted during the dictatorship.
Human rights organisations have long sought truth and accountability for the thousands of people who were killed or disappeared under military rule. The pope’s engagement with people affected by that history gives the Córdoba visit a significance beyond its large public attendance.
Pope Leo’s Message On Poverty And Argentina’s Economic Debate
The visit is unfolding amid a difficult economic debate in Argentina. President Javier Milei’s government has pursued an austerity programme that has drawn criticism from Catholic leaders concerned about the impact of spending cuts on low-income households and vulnerable communities.
Reuters reported that Leo had urged Milei not to target the country’s poorest people and that Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, the archbishop of Córdoba, viewed the papal visit as an opportunity for the pontiff to see the social consequences of government policies. The pope’s wider remarks have placed poverty, social responsibility and the dignity of vulnerable people among the issues surrounding the trip.
Leo’s comments have attracted attention because the Catholic Church remains an influential institution in Argentina, even as it faces the wider challenge of declining Catholic affiliation and the growth of evangelical Christian communities in parts of Latin America.
Argentina Stop Forms Part Of Three-Country South American Tour
Argentina is the second country on Leo’s 12-day apostolic journey, which began in Uruguay on November 6 and is scheduled to conclude in Peru on November 17. The official Vatican itinerary includes engagements in Montevideo and Paysandú in Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján in Argentina; and several cities in Peru.
The Argentine leg is particularly symbolic because it is the homeland of the late Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff. Francis never returned to Argentina during his papacy, making Leo’s visit the first papal journey to the country in nearly four decades.
Although Leo was born in the United States, he spent decades serving as a missionary and church leader in Peru. The Vatican has described the South American journey as a homecoming, reflecting his longstanding personal and pastoral ties to the region.
Following the Córdoba events, the pope is scheduled to return to Buenos Aires before travelling to Luján and then continuing to Peru on Wednesday, November 11. The trip is expected to include public Masses, meetings with church leaders, young people, political authorities and communities facing social challenges.
The 650,000-strong turnout in Córdoba, following the extraordinary crowd in Buenos Aires, has made the Argentine stage a defining moment of the journey. Beyond the numbers, Leo’s appeal to follow the example of the country’s saints has placed faith, service, reconciliation and concern for the vulnerable at the centre of his message to the nation.
Sources: Reuters; Associated Press; EFE; Holy See Press Office.