Pope Leo XIV Heads to Argentina to Meet Milei in His Most Delicate Stop Yet

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Argentina on Sunday, 8 November 2026, for the most politically delicate stop of his first big tour of South America. It is the first visit by a pope to Argentina in almost 40 years, and it puts the leader of the Catholic Church face to face with President Javier Milei, a libertarian leader whose deep spending cuts have divided the country.

The 71-year-old pope flew in from Uruguay, where he had spent the first days of a 12-day tour that will also take him to Peru. In Argentina, he will meet Milei, celebrate Mass in front of large crowds, and visit a care centre for people with disabilities and a prison. His words will be watched closely, because the Church has openly criticised Milei’s austerity programme for hitting the poorest hardest, while Milei has strongly backed the war on Iran, which the Pope has criticised.

For Argentina, the visit is about more than religion. It is a moment when the country’s deep political divide, its struggling economy, and the complicated legacy of Pope Francis, an Argentine who never returned home during his 12 years as pope, all come together in one four-day trip.

A first visit in nearly 40 years

No pope has set foot in Argentina since 1987, when John Paul II visited the country. That long gap is one of the most talked-about parts of this trip.

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires and served as its archbishop before becoming pope in 2013. Yet during his 12-year papacy, he never once returned to his homeland. His absence became a sore point in Argentina, where people disagreed sharply about him. Some saw him as a champion of the poor; others saw him as a political figure who had taken sides in the country’s bitter arguments.

Pope Leo is the first pope from the United States, but he also holds Peruvian citizenship and spent about 20 years working as a missionary priest in Peru. He is not Argentine, and that may help him. He arrives without the personal history that made Francis such a divisive figure at home, and many Argentines hope his visit can bring people together rather than split them apart.

Archbishop Jorge Ignacio Garcia Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described Argentina as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina”, marked by poverty, intolerance, and the political split Argentines call “la grieta”, or “the rift”. The Pope’s visit lands right in the middle of that divide.

The trip is also a remarkable physical effort. Leo is making one of the most intense foreign trips by a Catholic leader in decades, less than a month after surgery on 13 October to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung. Surgeons at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital removed the lower lobe of his right lung. Despite that, he has kept to a demanding schedule, and in Uruguay he drew 40,000 people to his first Mass in South America.

A delicate meeting with Milei

The centrepiece of Sunday is the Pope’s meeting with President Javier Milei, and it is expected to be the most politically sensitive moment of the whole tour.

Milei swept to power in 2023 after years of centre-left Peronist rule, campaigning with a chainsaw as a symbol of the deep cuts to state spending he promised to make. He argued that only drastic cuts could bring Argentina’s runaway inflation under control. By one measure, the plan has worked: annual inflation has fallen from over 200% to 33%. But the cost has been heavy. Subsidy cuts, public-sector layoffs, and business closures have squeezed household budgets, and surveys show Milei’s popularity has slipped ahead of elections next year.

Official data shows that poverty in Argentina reached 32.3% of the population in the first half of 2026, or about 15 million people. The Catholic Church in Argentina has been one of the loudest critics of the cuts, saying they have fallen hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable, including people with disabilities, whose benefits have been reduced.

Milei’s relationship with the Church has a difficult history. Before becoming president, he directed fierce insults at Pope Francis, at one point calling him “the representative of evil on Earth” and an “imbecile”. He later apologised, invited Francis to visit Argentina, and met him at the Vatican in February 2024. His government then began the diplomatic process that led to Pope Leo’s visit.

On Sunday, Milei was due to welcome Leo at Buenos Aires airport before the two held a private meeting at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. Later in the evening, at 6.30pm, the Pope was to address government officials, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the Palacio Libertad. In a rare gesture of political cordiality, the government invited opposition figures to that reception, bringing together political leaders from across the ideological spectrum.

The Pope usually speaks in careful, diplomatic language on foreign visits, and he is not expected to criticise Milei by name. But his remarks will be parsed word by word. As Nicolas Watson, a managing director at advisory firm Teneo, told Reuters, any comments by Leo on poverty, the limits of markets, or confrontational political rhetoric “could be read as implicit criticism of Milei and amplify existing opposition to the government’s approach”.

At the same time, analysts say Milei has little to gain from a clash. “Milei doesn’t win anything by fighting with [Leo],” Veronica Gimenez Beliveau, a sociologist at the University of Buenos Aires, told Reuters. “He could gain in showing an orderly country and administration.”

What the Pope will do in Argentina

Leo’s four-day stay, from 8 to 11 November, takes him to four cities, including Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Lujan. The programme is deliberately built around the people the Church says are most often left behind.

On Monday, he will visit the Pequeno Cottolengo Don Orione, a residential and educational centre in Claypole, in Buenos Aires province, that provides comprehensive care for people with disabilities. The visit carries added weight because spending cuts have reduced disability benefits while poverty remains widespread, and the centre’s religious director, Jorge Silanes, has spoken openly about that. Axel Kicillof, the powerful governor of Buenos Aires province, home to almost 40% of the country’s population, was due to welcome the Pope personally at the centre.

Also on Monday, Leo will celebrate his first Mass in Argentina at 11.30am along Avenida Libertador in Buenos Aires, in front of the Monumento de los Espanoles in Palermo. In the afternoon, he will meet representatives of the labour sector at the Catholic University of Argentina, in a gathering expected to bring together around 1,000 people from business, trade unions, social movements, and universities. Labour unions, opposition politicians, and social movements have all been trying to get their message to the Pope during his stay.

His itinerary also includes a visit to a prison, underlining a focus on groups that are often marginalised. On Wednesday, his final day in Argentina, he will celebrate Mass at 10am at the Lujan Basilica, home to the Virgin of Lujan, the patron saint of Argentina. Governor Kicillof is expected to attend that Mass too.

Why the visit matters beyond religion

The trip matters for three reasons that go beyond the Church itself.

First, it is a test of whether Argentina can have a shared national moment. The country has been split for years between supporters of Milei’s free-market revolution and those who believe the cuts have gone too far. A papal visit is one of the few events that can bring rival political leaders into the same room, as Sunday’s reception showed. Fortunato Mallimaci, a sociologist at Argentina’s Conicet research agency, told Reuters the visit would create “a sense of unity and energy among those who feel excluded by Milei’s economic program”.

Second, the visit highlights the gap between the Vatican and Milei’s government on some of the biggest questions of the day. Leo has forcefully warned about the risks of artificial intelligence, urged world leaders to treat immigrants more humanely, and called for action on climate change. Those positions have put him at odds with US President Donald Trump and other right-wing leaders, and Milei is seen as a close ally of Trump. Milei has also strongly supported the war on Iran, which Leo has criticised, to Trump’s irritation. The Pope’s speech on Sunday may be the clearest public statement yet of where he stands on these issues.

Third, the visit sets the tone for Leo’s young papacy. In 18 months as pope, he has emerged as a more forceful voice on the world stage, speaking out about the direction of global leadership. This tour, his longest and farthest so far, is his chance to show what kind of pope he wants to be: one who speaks for the poor, defends the dignity of work, and pushes for patient diplomacy over conflict. In Uruguay, he urged South American countries to tackle regional problems together and to set an example for the value of patient diplomacy. Argentina will show whether that message can land in a country where politics is rarely patient.

A tour shaped by recovery

The Argentina leg is the second part of a three-country tour that runs until 17 November. Leo began in Uruguay on 6 November, where he marked an important Catholic feast day tied to the country’s independence and drew attention to the role the Church has played in Latin America’s most secular country. After Argentina, he travels to Peru, his second homeland, where he spent two decades as a missionary and learned to be a pastor.

Before leaving Rome, Leo wrote on social media that his South American journey would seek to “strengthen faith, renew hope, rekindle the fire of charity and serve as an impetus to continue proclaiming the Gospel with joy”. Milei replied warmly, writing: “Your Holiness, Argentina awaits you with great joy. It will therefore be a great honour to welcome you to our country. May your visit strengthen faith, renew hope and bring a message of peace to all Argentinians.”

That exchange of warm words is the public face of the visit. Behind it, both men have something to prove. For Milei, the visit is a chance to show a stable, orderly Argentina to the world, and to demonstrate that a libertarian president can stand beside the Pope without a fight. For Leo, it is a chance to show that the Church still speaks for the people his host’s policies have hurt most, and to do it in a country that has waited almost 40 years for a pope to come home.

What happens next

The next four days will be watched closely in Buenos Aires and in Rome. The Pope’s speech on Sunday evening will be the first signal of how direct he is willing to be. His visits on Monday to the disability care centre and to labour representatives will show which voices he wants to amplify. And the Mass in Lujan on Wednesday will close a visit that many Argentines hope can offer something the country has lacked for years: a moment of unity in a divided nation.

Whatever he says, the visit is already historic. After nearly four decades without a papal visit, and after a predecessor who never came home, Argentina finally has a pope in its midst again. The question now is what the country does with the moment.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Pope Leo’s visit to Argentina historic?

It is the first visit by a pope to Argentina since 1987, when John Paul II came. Pope Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, never returned home during his 12 years as pope, so this is the first papal visit to the country in almost 40 years.

Who is Pope Leo XIV?

Pope Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States. He is 71 years old and also holds Peruvian citizenship, having spent about 20 years as a missionary priest in Peru. He became pope 18 months ago and underwent surgery in October 2026 to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung.

Why is the meeting with President Milei so closely watched?

Milei’s austerity programme has cut inflation from over 200% to 33%, but the Catholic Church says the cuts have hit the poorest hardest, with poverty at 32.3% in the first half of 2026. Milei also strongly supports the war on Iran, which the Pope has criticised. The Pope is not expected to criticise Milei by name, but any comments on poverty or the limits of markets will be read as a message to the government.

What will the Pope do during his four days in Argentina?

He meets Milei on Sunday, 8 November, and addresses officials and diplomats in the evening. On Monday, he visits a disability care centre in Claypole, celebrates Mass in Buenos Aires, and meets labour and business representatives. He also visits a prison, and on Wednesday he celebrates his final Mass at the Lujan Basilica before travelling on to Peru.

How long is the Pope’s South America tour?

The tour runs from 6 to 17 November and covers three countries: Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru. It is the longest and farthest trip of his papacy so far.

Conclusion

Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in Argentina is more than a ceremonial visit. It is the first time in almost 40 years that a pope has come to the country, and it brings together a president whose economic revolution has divided Argentina, a Church that speaks for those left behind, and a nation still wrestling with the legacy of Pope Francis.

The Pope’s meetings with Milei, his visits to a disability centre and a prison, and his Masses in Buenos Aires and Lujan will all be watched for signs of where he stands. But the visit’s simplest meaning may also be its most important: after decades of waiting, Argentina finally has a pope walking its streets again, and for four days, the country’s deep divides will share the same stage.

Sources

• Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/pope-leo-heads-mileis-argentina-tensions-loom-over-austerity-iran-2026-11-08/
• The Week (AP): https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2026/11/08/pope-wraps-up-uruguay-visit-heads-to-most-fraught-stop-of-his-tour-in-milei-s-argentina.html
• Buenos Aires Times: https://batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/milei-welcome-broadcasts-and-a-vp-thaw-quirno-confirms-details-of-pope-leos-visit-to-argentina.phtml
• Buenos Aires Herald: https://buenosairesherald.com/society/from-milei-to-labor-unions-who-will-try-to-get-their-message-to-the-pope
• Buenos Aires Times: https://batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/argentina-prepares-for-historic-pope-leo-xiv-visit.phtml

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.