Argentina will welcome Pope Leo XIV’s first official visit on Monday, a trip expected to carry particular weight because of the country’s social conditions and tense relations with President Javier Milei.
The three-day visit is part of the Pope’s tour of South America, which also includes Uruguay and Peru. Argentina has not received a papal visit since 1987, when Pope John Paul II traveled there. Pope Francis, who was Argentine, did not return to the country during his time as head of the Catholic Church.
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Leo XIV’s first stop will be the Cottolengo Don Orione center in Claypole on November 9, about 26 kilometers from Buenos Aires. Around 400 people with disabilities live at the institution, while preparations for the Pope’s welcome have been under way for several days.
But the center itself is facing major difficulties. Fernando Montero, its coordinator, says the government has stopped sending medication, special food and diapers. According to him, these supplies have been unavailable since last November, and the matter has now been taken to court.
Montero believes that the Pope’s and the president’s views are diametrically opposed. Leo XIV defends the idea that a person’s dignity does not depend on their ability to be productive, while Milei promotes an economy based on competition and a more limited role for the state.
Funding for centers that care for people with disabilities has become one of the main points of conflict between the Catholic Church and the government. The Argentine Bishops’ Conference has sent a letter to Health Minister Mario Lugones denouncing the situation of institutions that provide this service.
Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has sharply cut public spending, saying this was necessary to curb inflation. However, the measures have affected the real incomes of pensioners and funding for social services.
Data from the Mate research organization show that pensioners receiving the minimum pension, who account for 63% of the total, have lost around 30% of their purchasing power.
Discontent with government policies has also been reflected in weekly protests by pensioners outside Congress. During the latest protest, one of the citizens was holding a sign that read: “Save us, Pope Leo XIV, Milei is killing us.”
President Milei will be at the airport on Sunday to welcome the Pope. On Monday, after his visit to Cottolengo Don Orione, Leo XIV will meet with business and trade union representatives in Buenos Aires.
On Tuesday, the Pope will celebrate Mass at the state-owned FAdeA military aircraft factory in Córdoba. Workers at the factory have protested against the cuts implemented by the government.
The trip could create uncomfortable situations for Milei, who has publicly clashed with Pope Francis in the past. In 2020, he called Francis an “idiot” and a “representative of Evil on Earth,” while accusing him of promoting communism. After meeting him at the Vatican in February 2024, Milei said he had apologized.
The differences between the two figures also extend to technology. Leo XIV has called for restrictions on artificial intelligence, while Milei has said he does not plan to regulate the technology and has supported investment in data centers and initiatives for its development.
Milagros Miceli, a sociologist and computer scientist who heads the Critical AI Lab in Berlin, describes these positions as clearly opposed. According to her, the Pope wants people to remain at the center of technological progress, while the Argentine government is pursuing a different path.
Although Milei’s cabinet has sought to downplay the possibility of a political confrontation, attention during the visit is expected to focus on the Pope’s positions on poverty, work, domestic production and the rights of people in need.
Reports suggest that many Argentines are expecting Leo XIV to deliver a message on social justice and humanitarian issues. In this context, the visit could also bring Pope Francis’s legacy and his commitment to the poorest sectors of society back to the center of the debate.
