Pope Leo draws 2.5 million to Mass in Buenos Aires, tells people with disabilities they are "a blessing, not a burden"
Illustration: Press Pass USAPope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass in Argentina on Monday before an estimated 2.5 million people in Buenos Aires, the largest crowd of his papacy — and the first papal Mass in the country in nearly 40 years. Hours earlier, he visited a home for people with disabilities and told them their lives were a blessing, not a burden, in a message widely read as a challenge to President Javier Milei's austerity cuts.
The late-morning Mass took place at the Monumento de los Españoles, in the capital's leafy north, the same site where St. John Paul II celebrated the last papal Mass in Argentina in 1987. Local authorities estimated the turnout at 2.5 million, according to the Vatican. Thousands of faithful had arrived at midnight to secure a spot, and crowds stretched for miles down the Avenida del Libertador, waving white-and-yellow Vatican flags. The day was declared a national holiday so people could attend, and the Mass went ahead under blue skies. President Milei and his sister Karina Milei, the secretary-general of the presidency, sat among the VIP guests.
In his homily, Leo praised the Christian family as a pillar of Argentine society. "The family is the place where faith, human virtues, a culture of work, respect for the elderly, the defense of life and fidelity to one's word are handed on," he told the crowds. He said Argentine families face joblessness, violence and addictions, but remain the bedrock of society: "Do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, it remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time."
Before the Mass, Leo made a pilgrimage to the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, south of Buenos Aires, a home founded by an Italian priest in 1935 that houses more than 400 people with disabilities on 123 acres. Known as the "city of charity," the center has been hit hard by Milei's austerity measures, which froze payments to specialized therapy programs and dismantled support for many of Argentina's estimated 5 million people with disabilities. Some residents and staff wept as the pope arrived and embraced people in wheelchairs.
"You can help us to remember the foundation of the dignity of every human being and what is truly important in life," Leo said in the center's chapel. "A nation's progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs." Argentina's Congress overrode Milei's veto last year to pass a law increasing funding for disability care, but his administration has resisted implementing it, and the Senate is due to consider legislation this week that would set aside money for disability benefits in next year's budget. The government paid the Cottolengo about 828 million pesos — roughly $535,000 — just over a week ago for medications, diapers and food, covering about four months at the home, according to its disability services director.
Leo, the first American pope, arrived in Argentina on Sunday after three days in Uruguay, fulfilling the unfinished legacy of Argentine Pope Francis. With Milei at his side on arrival, he cited Francis' frequent refrain that money must serve and not rule: "The economy must serve the person, not the person the economy." Later Monday he was to meet business leaders, union representatives and leaders of popular movements at the Catholic University of Argentina, and to lead a vespers service with Argentina's bishops.
The Mass was the largest liturgical gathering of Leo's 18-month papacy; the previous largest was about 1.2 million people in Madrid in June. The 71-year-old pope is on an ambitious 50-event, three-country tour of South America less than a month after undergoing lung cancer surgery on October 13. He will spend Tuesday in Argentina before traveling to Peru on Wednesday, the last stop of the tour, and returning to Rome on November 17.
Sources: Associated Press, "Pope draws 2.5 million to Mass in Argentina and tells people with disabilities they are a blessing" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified); Vatican Press Office, "Holy Mass at the Monumento de los Españoles" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified); National Catholic Register, "Pope Leo XIV Praises the Christian Family's Contributions to Argentina" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified); Reuters, "Huge crowds greet Pope Leo with chants at Buenos Aires outdoor Mass" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified). Event date verified: Monday, November 9, 2026, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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