Pope Draws Huge Crowds At Argentina Shrine Before Peru Homecoming

Pope Leo XIV drew vast crowds to Argentina’s holiest shrine Wednesday, the final day of his visit before he departs for Peru, where he spent nearly two decades as a missionary. Authorities said two million people packed the streets around the Basilica of Lujan, with some climbing fences, barriers, trees and lampposts for a glimpse of the pontiff as crowds chanted “thank you Leo for your blessing.” The stop at Lujan is the emotional centerpiece of Leo’s first visit to Argentina, where his predecessor Francis never returned home as pope.

“This is a very important moment for us, we had an Argentine pope and he wasn’t able to come, that hurt me,” said 76-year-old Estela Adorno. The 71-year-old pontiff is on a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru less than a month after undergoing surgery for lung cancer. The South America tour has been cast as a double homecoming, bringing Leo to Argentina, birthplace of Francis, before taking him to Peru, where he spent years as a missionary and church leader before becoming pope.

Throughout his stay in Argentina, Leo has pointedly urged leaders to build a more inclusive economy and protect society’s most vulnerable, comments widely interpreted as criticism of President Javier Milei’s government. Those social concerns were visible in the crowd at Lujan. One group unfurled a banner reading “land, housing and work for the people,” while a woman held a sign calling for the release of a man she said had been wrongly imprisoned.

Adorno said the pope’s message had resonated in a country marked by political and economic divisions. “Everything that helps society is welcome. People were deeply moved, I was deeply moved. With everything that is happening in the country, it will always be welcome,” she added. Flourishing Through Limits Volunteers handed out water in the crowd as pilgrims continued streaming into Lujan under the spring sun.

Inside the basilica, choir members prepared for a Mass they described as a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. “It is a unique opportunity, full of emotion. From the moment we were told we would participate, through preparing the repertoire and these final days of rehearsals, there has been so much shared excitement,” said choir member Nora Jauregui, a 61-year-old retired music teacher.

Earlier Wednesday, Leo visited inmates at Buenos Aires’ Devoto prison, where he urged prisoners to use their time behind bars as an opportunity to rebuild their lives. “Human beings often flourish through limits rather than despite them,” the pope told around 75 inmates and family members gathered in the prison gymnasium. He acknowledged the hardship of prison life, saying he could imagine their sleepless nights and thoughts of loved ones or those they may have harmed.

The US-born pope had refused to reschedule the trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru despite having the lower part of his right lung removed to extract a cancerous tumor. AFP