Pope Leo XIV arrived this Sunday, November 8, in Buenos Aires, the second leg of his trip through South America, and was received at the foot of the plane by the President of the Nation, Javier Milei, who was accompanied by his sister Karina, Secretary General of the Presidency. The papal aircraft landed at 16:33 at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, coming from Montevideo, thus beginning a visit that will last until November 11.
After the protocol greeting, the welcome ceremony included the performance of the national anthem by the Granaderos Regiment. The Pope greeted the authorities present, including the leaders of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, and received gifts from children. Even before stepping onto the tarmac, the airport control tower sent him a welcome message: “Welcome, Holy Father.” It was also planned that the bells of all the city’s churches would ring for ten minutes to welcome him.
A visit that Francis never made
This is the first papal visit to Argentina in 39 years, since John Paul II’s visit in 1987. The country is also the homeland of Francis, the Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who during his twelve years as pontiff never returned even once—an absence that has shaped the climate of expectation surrounding this visit.
Milei’s presence at the airport also carries political significance. The president had already been received by Leo XIV at the Vatican on June 7, 2025, in an audience at the Apostolic Palace, and InfoVaticana has reviewed why the Pope did not treat him then as a Catholic head of state for ceremonial purposes. They will meet again today at the Casa Rosada.
From the San Martín monument to the Casa Rosada
According to the official program, the Pontiff proceeded from Aeroparque to Plaza San Martín to visit the monument to the Liberator and the Armies of Independence. Afterward, the welcome ceremony is scheduled at the Casa Rosada and a meeting with the president at 17:50. The day will conclude at 18:30 with an address to the authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the Palacio Libertad.
On Monday the 9th, a national holiday, Leo XIV will visit the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole early in the morning, home to around 400 people with disabilities. At 11:30 he will celebrate a large-scale Mass at the Monumento de los Españoles, and in the afternoon he will meet with representatives of the world of work at the Universidad Católica Argentina, with Christian and other religious leaders at the Palacio San Martín, and with the bishops at Vespers in the metropolitan cathedral.
On Tuesday the 10th he will travel to Córdoba, his only trip into the interior of the country, to preside over Mass on the esplanade of the Military Aviation School and meet with the clergy in the cathedral. That night, back in Buenos Aires, he will lead a vigil with young people. On Wednesday the 11th he will visit the Federal Penitentiary Complex, celebrate the central Mass in front of the basilica of Our Lady of Luján, and bid farewell at Ezeiza before flying to Lima, the final stop of the tour.