Pope Leo Draws Record 2.5 Million to Buenos Aires Mass
Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass before a record crowd of 2.5 million people in Buenos Aires on Monday, the largest gathering of his 18-month papacy and a striking show of strength for the Catholic Church in South America.
Argentines stretched for miles down the Avenida del Libertador, waving white-and-yellow Vatican flags and pressing against security barriers for a glimpse of the pontiff as he was driven past in an open-top popemobile under sunny skies. Reuters reported that chants of “Long live Pope Leo!” echoed down the tree-lined boulevard as the Mass got under way at the Monumento de los Españoles.
The visit is the first by a pope to majority-Catholic Argentina since 1987, and the centrepiece of a 12-day tour of South America that the Vatican has described as a homecoming for the first US-born pope. Leo, 71, spent decades as a missionary in Peru before his election, and he arrived in Argentina on Sunday after opening the tour in Uruguay. He travels on to Peru on Wednesday before returning to Rome on 17 November.
A record crowd for an 18-month papacy
The scale of Monday’s gathering surpassed the previous largest event of Leo’s papacy, when about 1.2 million people turned out in Madrid in June. Pilgrims had gathered in the early hours of Monday, some camping out overnight to secure a front-row place, while police cordoned off large sections of the capital to create a security zone. Parts of the normally bustling city stood near-empty as the crowds converged on the avenue.
“It fills my heart with joy to celebrate… with you,” Leo said in his sermon. “My visit to this land of Argentina has allowed me to see on your faces the enthusiasm of your faith.”
The pope spoke of his happiness at seeing Catholics in a region that has long been a stronghold for the Church but where it has been losing ground in recent years to fast-growing evangelical denominations.
“I love that [Leo] is visiting us,” Claudia Pardo, 37, who waited with her husband and two young children, told Reuters. “It’s a unique, historic moment, and we should listen to his message.” Alejandra Frias, 56, was sleepless after camping out all night for a front-row view. “This is an emotional and spiritual moment,” she said.
A pope shaped by the Americas
Leo’s tour is one of the most demanding foreign trips by a pope in decades: 50 events across three countries, undertaken less than a month after he underwent surgery for lung cancer.
The Buenos Aires Mass was offered for the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, and OSV News reported that the 2.5 million figure made it the largest crowd of Leo’s pontificate.
Leo has also used the tour to press South American nations to set an example of regional cooperation and patient diplomacy instead of conflict, emerging as a forceful voice on the world stage as he laments what he sees as a failure of global leadership.
A message for families under strain
The pope’s sermon on Monday turned to the difficulties faced by Argentine families. He said they were enduring “instability, social hardship, precarious employment, domestic violence, painful separations and addictions that destroy young people’s futures and damage family relationships.”
The theme carried over from his remarks the day before, when he addressed President Javier Milei on Sunday and urged the libertarian leader, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, not to target Argentina’s poorest. Milei has pushed an austerity agenda that the Church has strongly criticised for cutting social services, and Leo told him that leaders should be careful with their words and know the limits of their power.
Ahead of Monday’s Mass, Leo visited the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione care centre for people with disabilities on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, where thousands had also gathered in hope of seeing him. Jorge Silanes, the centre’s religious director, said the visit carried added significance because Milei’s spending cuts have reduced disability benefits while poverty remains widespread.
Leo told the centre’s residents and staff that places like theirs “have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success.” He added: “A nation’s progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs.”
What comes next
Leo remains in Argentina until Wednesday, when he travels to Peru for the final leg of the tour. He returns to Rome on 17 November.
For a pontiff still recovering from surgery, the Buenos Aires crowd was both a test of stamina and a measure of his standing. On Monday, the avenue belonged to the pope — and to the millions who turned out to see him.
