Pope Leo's Historic Argentina Visit: Pope Urges Milei to Safeguard Democracy

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Argentina on Sunday, November 8, 2026, and within hours delivered a message impossible to mistake. Standing before President Javier Milei and Argentina’s political leaders, the first American pope urged them to safeguard democracy, choose their words carefully and treat opponents as fellow citizens — the opening act of the first papal visit to Argentina in almost four decades, a journey his predecessor, the first Argentine pope, never made.

Key Points

• Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday, November 8, 2026, on the second leg of his 12-day Latin America trip, November 6–17 through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
• The pope met privately with Milei shortly after landing, then a welcome ceremony at the Casa Rosada, then his first speech at the Palacio Libertad.
• “Democracy, then, is also a part of Argentina’s heritage that needs to be safeguarded,” Leo said, urging careful words, willingness to listen and opponents seen as fellow citizens.
• The visit comes three weeks after Leo’s October 13 surgery for a cancerous lung tumour, and is the first papal visit to Argentina in almost 40 years.
• Milei once called Pope Francis an “imbecile” and “the representative of the evil one on earth”; on Sunday he again called Francis “the most important Argentine in history”.

What Happened

Leo’s day began with a private meeting with Milei shortly after landing, then a welcome ceremony at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace on the Plaza de Mayo, where Mayor Jorge Macri presented him with the keys to the city. Leo also visited the Monument to General San Martín.

The centrepiece was the pope’s first speech, at the Palacio Libertad before politicians, civil society and the diplomatic corps, with Milei at his side. Leo said democracy is strengthened by “the daily conduct of public life: through willingness to listen, through careful use of words, through the patient search for agreement, and through the ability to see those who think differently as fellow citizens with whom we share a common future.”

He also spoke of the “freedom to elect one’s own leaders through the ballot box”, saying democracy is protected by “confidence in the law”, free expression and institutions serving all parties. Millions are expected at events during his November 8–11 stay.

Background: Why Francis Never Came Home

The visit carries extra weight because of who did not make it. Pope Francis, the first Argentine pope, never returned home in his 12-year papacy, something even his closest friends could not explain. Some link his reluctance to Argentina’s polarised politics and his wariness of being weaponised.

Before his election in 2013, Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he spoke out on social justice and criticised political leaders. He lamented Argentina’s economic decline, blaming decades of bad governance and contrasting the roughly 5% inflation of his youth with soaring inflation and high poverty in recent years.

Leo, the Chicago-born first American pontiff, has made the church’s social teaching and concern for the marginalised central to his papacy, continuing his predecessor’s reforms in his own style. He has publicly disagreed with US President Donald Trump, Milei’s strongest backer, on migrants and the Iran war. The trip began in Uruguay on November 6; US News Pulse reported on its announcement and on Leo’s historic mail-in vote in the US midterms.

Pope Leo’s Argentina Visit Carries a Message for Milei

The pope’s words landed where Milei’s “chainsaw” austerity has cut welfare spending, where the president has equated state-led social justice with communism and been accused of undermining democracy through attacks on the press and divisive rhetoric. He has also struggled to win bipartisan agreements.

Against that backdrop, Leo’s call to recognise the limits of power sounded pointed. “Authority is most authentic when it is exercised as service, when it looks beyond the immediate, and when it uses its power to promote the welfare of all,” he said. Applause forced him to repeat: “Those who exercise authority have a duty to act with prudence, to acknowledge the limits of the power entrusted to them.”

Leo cited Argentina’s “abundance of human resources”, calling for its wealth to “bear fruit for the benefit of all”, and warned corruption undermines trust in institutions.

Reactions and Quotes

Milei insulted Francis repeatedly during his campaign — calling him an “imbecile” for defending social justice and “the representative of the evil one on earth” — and later apologised. After Francis died in April 2025, Milei called him “the most important Argentine in history”, a tribute he repeated on Sunday.

Milei and Francis met at the Vatican in February 2024, when the pope joked about the president’s unruly hairstyle — “you cut your hair!” — and Milei replied he had “tidied it up”. Leo and Milei met at the Vatican in June 2025.

The pope’s message drew applause at the Palacio Libertad, and crowds of faithful with Vatican flags waited hours in Buenos Aires, watching on smartphones as the first papal visit to their country in a generation got under way.

Why It Matters

A papal visit to Argentina is, on its own, a generational event. That this one carries a direct appeal to safeguard democracy — delivered in person, beside a president whose style the pope’s words plainly address — makes it a defining moment of Leo’s young papacy: the first American pope, speaking to a leader backed by the American president, in the homeland of the Argentine pope who never came home, on the limits of power.

The visit also puts the church’s social teaching at the centre of public debate as austerity bites the poorest hardest. Leo’s itinerary underlines it: a federal prison in Buenos Aires and a care centre for people with disabilities in Claypole, hit by Milei’s cuts.

What Happens Next

Leo remains in Argentina until November 11, with services and events expected to draw millions. He then travels to Peru, the final leg of the 12-day trip, which ends on November 17.

For Milei, the days ahead will test whether the pope’s words — on listening, careful language and the limits of power — register beyond the ceremony. For Leo, Argentina is the emotional centre of a trip that has taken him from Uruguay to the country his predecessor never visited.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Pope Leo’s Argentina visit historic?
It is the first papal visit to Argentina in almost four decades; Francis, the first Argentine pope, never returned home in his 12-year papacy.

What did Pope Leo say to Milei?
Leo urged Milei and Argentina’s leaders to safeguard democracy, use words carefully, listen to opponents and acknowledge the limits of their power.

Why did Pope Francis never visit Argentina?
Francis never explained it; some link his reluctance to Argentina’s polarised politics.

What is on the pope’s Argentina itinerary?
Besides meetings and services, Leo will visit a federal prison in Buenos Aires and a care centre for people with disabilities in Claypole, hit by Milei’s cuts.

How long is Pope Leo’s Latin America trip?
The 12-day trip runs November 6–17, 2026, through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, three weeks after Leo’s October 13 surgery to remove a cancerous lung tumour.