Pope Leo XIV to meet Milei, unions and social movements during Argentina visit

Pope Leo XIV’s planned visit to Argentina will bring him face to face with President Javier Milei, unions, social movements and business representatives, alongside a demanding program of public Masses and meetings. The Vatican has not yet finalized the schedule, but its advance delegation is already working with Argentine church and government authorities.

Leo XIV is due to arrive in Buenos Aires on the night of Sunday, Nov. 8, and spend the following day in the capital. The preliminary itinerary includes a meeting with Milei, a tribute to independence hero José de San Martín, and a gathering with civil authorities and the diplomatic corps at the Palacio Libertad.

On Nov. 9, the pope is expected to visit Cottolengo Don Orione, a Catholic institution for people with disabilities in Claypole, south of Buenos Aires. He will also preside over a large Mass at the Monumento a los Españoles in Palermo. The day’s program includes an interfaith and ecumenical meeting at the Foreign Ministry’s Palacio San Martín, followed by a meeting at the Catholic University of Argentina with unions, social movements and business organizations. He will later meet Argentina’s bishops and other church members at Buenos Aires Cathedral.

The pope will travel to Córdoba on Nov. 10 for a Mass at the Argentine Aircraft Factory, known as FAdeA, and a meeting with priests, religious figures and consecrated people. After returning to Buenos Aires, he is expected to attend a youth vigil. On Nov. 11, he will travel to Luján to celebrate Mass outside the country’s principal shrine to the Virgin of Luján, Argentina’s patron.

The visit would mark the first papal trip to Argentina in almost four decades. The Vatican is expected to publish the definitive timetable in the coming weeks.