BUENOS AIRES, Nov 9 — Vast crowds thronged one of the main boulevards in Buenos Aires on Monday as Pope Leo XIV hailed the strength of the Roman Catholic Church in South America at an outdoor Mass that drew a record 2.5 million people on the first papal trip to Argentina in 39 years.
Argentines stretched for miles down Avenida del Libertador, waving the white-and-yellow Vatican flag and pressing against security barriers for a glimpse of the pontiff. It was the largest event to date of the pontiff's 18-month tenure leading the global Catholic Church.
Chants of "Long live Pope Leo!" echoed down the tree-lined street as His Holiness, on the second leg of a 12-day trip to South America, was driven in an open-top popemobile under sunny skies.
In his sermon, the Pope said how happy he was to see Catholics in a region that has long been a stronghold for the Church but where it has been losing ground recently to fast-growing evangelical denominations.
"It fills my heart with joy to celebrate...with you. My visit to this land of Argentina has allowed me to see on your faces the enthusiasm of your faith," said the pontiff.
Crowds camp out all night
The Pope, 71, is on an ambitious 50-event, three-country tour less than a month after undergoing lung cancer surgery. His Holiness visited Uruguay before arriving in Argentina on Sunday and will travel on to Peru on Wednesday before returning to Rome, Italy, on November 17.
The first American-born pontiff spent decades as a missionary in Peru, and the Vatican has described the tour, one of the most demanding foreign tours by a pope in decades, as a "homecoming".
People had gathered in the early hours of Monday ahead of the Mass. Some normally bustling parts of the city stood near-empty as police cordoned off a security zone.
Vendors along the pilgrims' route were selling souvenirs of the visit, including flags featuring His Holiness' face.
"I love that (Leo) is visiting us. It is a unique, historic moment, and we should listen to his message," said Claudia Pardo, 37, who waited for the Pope with her husband and two young children.
Alejandra Frias, 56, was sleepless after camping out all night to get a front-row view of the pontiff.
"This is an emotional and spiritual moment," she said.
Know limits of power, Pope tells Milei
A pope has not visited majority-Catholic Argentina since 1987. Pope Leo XIV's predecessor Francis never returned to his home country after ascending to the papacy.
The pontiff has emerged as a forceful voice on the world stage, lamenting what he sees as a failure of global leadership. On the tour, His Holiness has urged South American nations to set an example of regional cooperation and patient diplomacy instead of conflict.
On Sunday, His Holiness addressed Argentine President Javier Milei, a libertarian and ally of United States President Donald Trump. The Pope urged Milei, who has pushed an austerity agenda that the Church has strongly criticised for cutting social services, not to target Argentina's poorest.
The pontiff told Milei, a theatrical figure known for bombastic statements, that leaders should be careful with their words and know the limits of their power.
His Holiness lamented the difficulties Argentine families face at the Mass on Monday, as they are enduring "instability, social hardship, precarious employment, domestic violence, painful separations, and addictions that destroy young people's futures and damage family relationships."
Later, in a meeting with labourers and union leaders, Pope Leo XIV decried corporate greed and urged that workers be treated with respect.
"The economy...must be at the service of the person, and not the person at the service of the economy," the pontiff said to applause from the group.
The Pope, who has warned that artificial intelligence could lead the world down a path of unending war, also expressed concern that "unregulated automation can put countless jobs at risk."
Economy not only measure of success
The pontiff also met with five victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Monday, one of several such meetings he is expected to have on his trip as the Church seeks to repair its standing after abuse scandals tarnished its reputation.
Ahead of Monday's Mass, His Holiness visited a care centre for disabled people on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, where thousands had also gathered in hope of seeing him.
The Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione Centre's religious director Jorge Silanes said the visit carried added significance because Milei's spending cuts have reduced disability benefits while poverty remains widespread.
The Pope noted in his remarks that centres like theirs "have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success."
The previous largest event in Pope Leo XIV's papacy came in June, when some 1.2 million turned out in Madrid during the pontiff's visit to Spain.
