Pope Draws One Million to Buenos Aires

Pope Leo XIV attracted an estimated one million people to a nighttime youth vigil in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. The Vatican provided the figure for the gathering at the Monumento de los Españoles. This site had previously hosted a main Mass on Monday that drew 2.5 million attendees, setting a record for his pontificate.

The pope visited Córdoba earlier in the day to preside over a Mass attended by an estimated 650,000 faithful. He selected the city for its central location after nearly four decades without a papal visit. During the service, Leo described the region as a land of saints. He pointed to St. José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and Mama Antula as models for modern believers.

Leo told the crowd in Córdoba that all Christians are called to holiness. He stated that these saints had already completed their missions on Earth. He urged the faithful to follow the radiant example they left behind. The pope’s homily focused on spiritual duties rather than the nation’s political history.

The liturgy took place on the grounds of the Argentine Aircraft Factory. The air force ran the plant for much of the 20th century. It built the attack planes used in late 1975 to strike leftist guerrillas. This counterinsurgency campaign preceded the state terror of the 1976 to 1983 military dictatorship. Human rights groups estimate that approximately 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during that period.

After the Mass, Leo met privately with 20 individuals selected by the local archbishop. Among them was Alba Camargo, 64, who was detained by security forces at age 13 in 1976. Her father, stepmother, aunt, and uncle all disappeared under the dictatorship. Camargo told the pope she represented relatives still searching for remains at La Perla, a former clandestine detention center. She handed him a folder containing photos of recent excavations and the names of identified victims.

Forensic anthropologists identified the remains of nine missing people from La Perla two weeks prior. Camargo said she hoped the meeting would bring change. She noted that President Javier Milei’s government has cut funding for dictatorship memorial sites. The administration has also promoted a revisionist account of the military’s actions. Camargo described the private meeting as a gesture showing that the pope sees the victims.

Leo referenced Argentina’s painful history only in passing during his first speech to government authorities on Sunday. He mentioned painful memories and the need for each generation to confront past injustices. Four senators from Milei’s party began preparing a bill to ban online gambling ads on Tuesday. This move followed the pope’s calls to protect the vulnerable. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno acknowledged that the pope’s remarks challenged the political class to address societal shortcomings.