The province of Buenos Aires has declared the upcoming November 11 an extraordinary public holiday on the occasion of the visit of Leo XIV, a measure intended to facilitate the movement of the faithful to the Mass that the Pope will celebrate in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, located about 70 kilometers from the Argentine capital.
According to the Argentine newspaper El Cronista, authorities expect the attendance of up to two million people from different parts of the country. Given this forecast, the possibility of extending the holiday, initially limited to the province of Buenos Aires, to the entire national territory is being studied.
The celebration in Luján will take place during the last day of Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina. The basilica, one of the main centers of Catholic pilgrimage in the country, houses the image of Our Lady of Luján, patroness of Argentina.
Visit to Argentina, Uruguay and Peru
Leo XIV will visit Argentina from November 8 to 11, with planned stops in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján. It will also be the current Pontiff’s first visit to the native country of his predecessor, Francis.
Before arriving in Argentina, the Pope will remain in Uruguay from November 6 to 8. After concluding the Argentine stage, he will travel to Peru for a seven-day visit.
The stop in Peru will have a special connection with the personal trajectory of Leo XIV. Before his election to the papacy, Robert Francis Prevost carried out his ministry in the Andean country for nearly two decades, first as an Augustinian missionary and later as a bishop.
The announcement of the holiday in Buenos Aires thus comes two months before a visit for which Argentine authorities expect a particularly large turnout in Luján, where the Mass on November 11 will constitute one of the main public celebrations of the Pope’s stay in the country.